Kisshu's Illness
by kisshuismylife
Summary: Kisshu gets sick, and Pai and Taruto kidnap Ichigo to help take care of him. Will this lead to Ichigo having feelings for Kisshu?
1. Collapse

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 1:**

**Collapse**

Pai walked into Kisshu's room. It was time for the next attack on the Mews, and Kisshu still wasn't ready to go. _Lazy fool, _Pai thought to himself.

However, when Pai got into Kisshu's room and looked at Kisshu, who was still in bed, he got worried. Kisshu's face was flushed, and there was sweat on his forehead. His eyes were closed and his breathing was harsh.

Pai put a hand on Kisshu's forehead, and his eyes widened. Kisshu obviously had a really high fever. As he took his hand off Kisshu's forehead, Kisshu started to wake up. He looked startled to see Pai staring down at him.

"Hey, Pai…" Kisshu broke off, coughing, then continued weakly, "Do you think you can handle the attack today? I'm not feeling very good…"

"Yeah, sure," Pai said, seemingly thinking. Suddenly it looked like he had an idea. He left the room, and Kisshu shrugged, then went back to sleep.

Pai meanwhile, was worried. He didn't recognize the illness Kisshu had; it looked like some human thing. Then he got an idea. The Mews would know what it was! And since Kisshu liked Ichigo best, he could get her to come help. Pai devised a plan to capture Mew Ichigo. He would have preferred to get Mew Lettuce, but that would mean that the other Mews would be better equipped to rescue her. Kidnapping their leader would render them helpless.

With that in mind, he called Taruto. "Taruto, we're going to kidnap Mew Ichigo," he said when Taruto arrived.

"Do we have to get that old hag?" Taruto asked grumpily.

"Yes, we do. Kisshu's really sick, and she's probably the only one who can help. Besides, if we kidnap their leader, they'll be helpless," Pai said firmly.

"Wait, Kisshu's sick?" Taruto asked.

"Yes. Now, here's my plan: We capture Mew Ichigo when she's not on guard- that means no Chimera Animas. We'll have to use stealth to get her, but we need to do it now. I'm calling off the attack for today; instead, we'll kidnap Mew Ichigo. Let's go, Taruto," Pai said.

Taruto nodded, and the two of them teleported off.

_Meanwhile, with Ichigo: _Ichigo was about to meet Masaya at the cherry tree in Inohara Park, their favorite spot. He had said he had something important to talk about. Wondering what it was, she walked to the cherry tree, where Masaya was already waiting.

"I'm sorry if I'm late," Ichigo said.

"Ichigo, remember I said I wanted to talk to you about something important?" Masaya asked.

"Hai…" Ichigo said, what was he getting at?

"Well," Masaya continued, "I decided that I don't think this relationship will work out. I'm sorry, but I'm breaking up with you, Ichigo."

Ichigo's eyes filled with tears, and she ran off, crying. Masaya looked after her, then shrugged and walked away.

Ichigo ran all the way home, only to find that the lights were off, and there was a note on the table. It said:

_Ichigo, your father and I went on a romantic cruise to the Bahamas, and we'll be back in a week. Till then, have fun, and as your father says, no boys. _

_Love, Mom_

Ichigo crumpled up the note. _It's just like them to leave when I'm in the middle of an emotional crisis, _she thought as she went to her room. To her surprise, there was already somebody there- two somebodies, in fact.

"Pai! Taruto! What are you doing in my room?" Ichigo cried, shocked, as she reached for her pendant. Before she could transform, however, Pai knocked the pendant out of her hand, and grabbed her wrist in the same motion. Then he teleported, Taruto following.

Ichigo squeezed her eyes shut until she felt solid ground under her feet again. Then she opened her eyes and looked around.

"Where did you take me?" she asked Pai angrily. "I need to get back!"

To her surprise, Pai looked worried. Nevertheless, he said, "We took you to our ship, and we can't bring you back- yet."

"_Yet?" _Ichigo asked, confused.

"We need your help," Pai sighed, which completely shocked Ichigo. PAI was asking HER for help?

"What with?" Ichigo asked, still suspicious.

Pai replied, "Kisshu is ill. We don't recognize what he has, and I believe it's some kind of human disease. We need your help to cure him."

Ichigo's jaw dropped. "You expect me to help KISSHU get better?" she asked incredulously. "Are you JOKING? WHY would I do THAT?"

"Please, Mew Ichigo," Pai said. Ichigo was shocked. Pai looked… desperate.

Ichigo thought. She didn't think helping her enemy recover was a good idea, but it was pretty obvious that Pai and Taruto weren't letting her go until she helped Kisshu. Suddenly she remembered something. Kisshu's voice rang in her ears as she thought. _"How can I make you love me?"_

That snapped her out of thought. Suddenly she thought of something else. If Pai was going to capture any Mew, he would most likely go for Lettuce. She was the one always talking about how they should get along, and Ichigo was pretty sure Pai had a thing for her. "Pai, why did you kidnap me in particular?" she asked. "I would have expected you to go for Lettuce if you just wanted help with Kisshu."

Pai replied, "It's because Kisshu loves you. We think that you're the only one who can really help him recover."

Ichigo sighed, and said, "Fine. I'll help Kisshu. But you have to let me go after he's better, agreed?"

"Hai," Pai said.

"Alright. Show me where he is," Ichigo said.

**Well, there's the first chapter. I got the idea from peacexxx, who wanted something about Kisshu getting sick, and everyone else getting the same sickness, except Pudding and Taruto. Since I'm not really into writing PuddingXTaruto, I thought I'd tweak the idea and make it KisshuXIchigo. I don't really know where this will go, but please review!**


	2. Flu

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 2:**

**Flu**

Pai led Ichigo to Kisshu's room, and opened the door. Ichigo gasped as she saw Kisshu. His cheeks were flushed, and he was tossing and turning in his sleep. As Ichigo watched, Kisshu started coughing again. She went over to his side, and placed a gentle hand on his forehead, then quickly yanked it off. His fever had obviously gone up since Pai had been there.

Ichigo was no doctor, but she could see that Kisshu was really sick. She turned to Pai and said, "What other symptoms does he have besides a fever and a cough?"

Pai said, "His breathing was rather harsh earlier, but I wasn't in here very long, so I don't really know."

Ichigo turned back to Kisshu, just as he started shivering. She thought for a minute, going over what she saw in her mind. Finally she said, "It looks like a bad case of the flu. I had that once, but not as bad as this. I think I have some medicine at my house, do you want me to get it?"

"What is the medicine made of?" Pai asked.

"The one I think we need is made with ibuprofen," Ichigo replied.

"Okay, I'll teleport you there," Pai said.

"Wait. We should get a cool cloth, that'll help Kisshu's fever until we can give him the medicine," Ichigo said. Pai nodded, and showed her where the bathroom was. She got a small washcloth, and ran the water until it was ice cold, then soaked the washcloth and wrung it out. She went back to Kisshu and put the cloth over his forehead. She noticed he was shivering again, and said, "Do you have any more blankets?"

"Sure," Pai said. He left and returned with a stack of blankets, handing them to Ichigo. She took them and spread them all over Kisshu.

"Okay, can you teleport me to my house now?" Ichigo asked. "I should get some things of my own if I'm going to be here a while, as well as the medicine."

Pai nodded and took her hand. Then he teleported to her room. As soon as they got there, Ichigo ran to the bathroom, and opened the medicine cabinet. She took out a bottle of Motrin, then got her toothbrush and hairbrush, as well as toothpaste. She took these items back to her room, handed the medicine to Pai, and gathered up some clothes. She stuffed the clothes and toiletries into a bag, and said, "I'm all set. Let's get back." Pai nodded, and teleported back to Kisshu's room. Taruto was still there. One thing was different, though: Kisshu had woken up.

"Pai? Why is Ichigo here?" Kisshu asked, his voice raspy and weak.

"I asked her to help you, and she agreed, as long as I let her go after you get better," Pai said. He seemed somewhat ashamed.

Despite the condition he was in, Kisshu smirked and said, "So, you do like me, huh Koneko-chan?"

Ichigo turned slightly pink, and to everyone's shock, muttered, "Maybe…"

Kisshu was so shocked, he started coughing again, causing Ichigo to look up again, and say, "I brought some medicine with me. Can you sit up? You should take some if you want to get better."

Kisshu tried to sit up, but fell back, exhausted by the effort. Ichigo sighed and said, "I'll help you. Pai, go get a glass of water. This type of medicine you have to swallow whole."

Pai nodded and left. He returned with a glass full of water. He handed it to Ichigo, who took it and then set it down on Kisshu's bedside table. Then she picked up the bottle of Motrin, and read the instructions. "Two tablets a day…" she muttered. Then she said, "It says to take one tablet in the morning and one in the evening until you get better. Since it's evening already, I'll just give you one, Kisshu."

Kisshu nodded, so Ichigo helped him to sit up, and gave him one tablet. He put it in his mouth, and Ichigo helped him drink the water. Once he had taken the medicine, Ichigo helped him lie back down. Then she pulled the blankets over him and said, "Go back to sleep. It'll help you heal faster."

Kisshu was already half-asleep, and soon after Ichigo said this, he was fast asleep. Ichigo turned to Pai and Taruto, who were watching her, and said, "We need to keep giving him the Motrin, and make sure he drinks enough fluids. I have some orange juice in the fridge at my house, which is good for sick people. I also have a bunch of ramen in the cabinet. Kisshu shouldn't be eating anything too heavy right now."

Pai said, "We actually have a bunch of ramen here too, because it's easy to cook. We don't have juice, though. Can we get that from your house?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. "Do you want to teleport me back, or should I just tell you where it is?"

"I know what it looks like, so if you tell me where you keep it, I can get it," Pai said.

"It's on the second shelf of the fridge, which is right next to the sink in the kitchen," Ichigo said.

Pai nodded and teleported off. He returned with the orange juice minutes later.

"Good," said Ichigo. "It needs to stay cold; do you have a fridge too?"

"Hai," Pai replied. "I'll go put it away. Should I make some ramen too?"

Before Ichigo could answer, Taruto shouted, "NO!"

"What was that about, Taruto?" Ichigo asked, puzzled.

"Pai is a disaster in the kitchen! Don't let him cook!" Taruto cried out in panic.

"OKAY! I'll cook it, alright?" Ichigo said, before Taruto could get too worked up. Pai was looking at Taruto with a very evil death glare.

Before Pai could do anything to Taruto though, Kisshu started to wake up from all the shouting. He tried to say something, but ended up coughing again.

"Don't try to talk, you'll just make yourself worse," Ichigo told him. "Sorry about the shouting." She turned and glared at Pai and Taruto, who got the message, and said, "Yeah, sorry."

Ichigo turned back to Kisshu and said, "You should try to get some more sleep. I'll go make something for you to eat later, k?"

Kisshu nodded and went back to sleep. Ichigo smiled slightly, then turned back to Pai and Taruto. "Since Pai is apparently a disaster in the kitchen, Taruto, come with me and show me where your cooking stuff is. Pai, stay here and watch Kisshu."

The two boys nodded, though Pai was scowling. Taruto led Ichigo to the kitchen, and showed her the ramen cabinet, and where the pots and pans were. Ichigo took a small pot and filled it with water, then set it on the stove and put it on to boil. A few minutes later, the water came to a boil, and Ichigo poured the ramen in. She waited until it was done cooking, then took a bowl from the counter and poured the ramen in. She then carried the bowl back to Kisshu's room, with Taruto behind her.

When they got back, Kisshu was still asleep. Ichigo set the ramen down on his bedside table, and turned to Pai. "I guess I'll sleep in here in case Kisshu gets worse. Can you get my pillow and sleeping bag out of my room? The sleeping bag is in the closet."

"Sure," said Pai, and teleported off, returning with the items soon after. Ichigo nodded and set the sleeping bag and pillow down next to Kisshu's bed.

That done, she noticed that Kisshu was waking up again. "Kisshu, are you hungry?" she asked.

Kisshu shook his head. "My stomach doesn't feel good…." he whispered.

Ichigo's eyes widened, and she said, "Pai do you have any buckets?"

"Yeah, why?" Pai asked.

"Bring one in here," Ichigo said. "If Kisshu says his stomach doesn't feel good, it could mean he has stomach flu. That's nasty, 'cause you tend to throw up a lot."

Pai's eyes widened too, and he teleported out and came back with a bucket. Ichigo took it and set it down on the other side of Kisshu's bed, then moved her sleeping bag to the far side of the room. "Kisshu, if you feel sick, try to get it in the bucket, okay?" Ichigo said.

Kisshu nodded, as he started to look a bit green. Then he turned over in bed, and threw up into the bucket. Ichigo came over and rubbed his back, as he got everything out. "Pai, go get a glass of warm water- cold water will just make him throw up more," Ichigo said. Pai nodded and went to the kitchen. He came back as Kisshu stopped, and gave the glass to Ichigo.

Kisshu turned over again, and whispered, "I really don't feel good, Koneko-chan…."

"I know, but you have to get through this. I'll be right here if you need anything, okay?" Ichigo said softly. "Try some of this water, it'll help to rinse your mouth out."

Kisshu drank some of the water and spit it out, then was about to drink more, before Ichigo warned him, "Don't drink too fast, or you'll throw up again." Kisshu nodded, and slowly drank the water. Then he laid back down, and went to sleep again.

Ichigo turned to Pai and Taruto and said, "I'll handle things here. You should both get some sleep, I'll make sure Kisshu's okay tonight." The boys nodded, and Pai said, "Thanks, Mew Ichigo."

"It's just Ichigo," Ichigo said with a smile.

Pai nodded, and he and Taruto left to go to their rooms. Ichigo climbed into her sleeping bag, and settled down for the night.

**Well, Kisshu is pretty sick now. There is more IXK fluff, so stay tuned and REVIEW!**


	3. Sick

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 3:**

**Sick**

Ichigo was woken up by Kisshu coughing again. Soon after she got out of her sleeping bag, she saw him turn over and throw up again. She knew he had been up during the night, too. _Poor guy, _she thought, walking over to pat him on the back.

Kisshu eventually stopped heaving, and looked up at Ichigo. "Thanks for taking care of me, Ichigo," he whispered.

Ichigo was startled to hear him use her real name, but said, "Sure, Kisshu." She noticed that the bucket was getting a bit full, and said, "I'm going to empty that bucket in the bathroom, so if you feel sick again, try to hold it, okay?"

Kisshu nodded, and started to lie back down. Ichigo took the bucket and went to the bathroom, where she emptied it into the toilet and flushed it. She cleaned the bucket in the tub a bit, then took it back to Kisshu's bedside. She noticed he had gone back to sleep, and it looked like his fever was back. _Not good, _she thought. She knew that Kisshu couldn't keep anything down, and that would include the medicine she brought. She decided to ask Pai if he had any liquid medicine for a fever.

Luckily for her, Pai came in just at that moment. "How's Kisshu doing?" he asked her.

"Not so good, his fever's come back. He's also been throwing up a lot. I don't think the medicine I brought will do much good if he can't keep it down. Do you have any liquid fever medicine?" Ichigo asked.

"I think so, let me check," Pai said, and left. While she waited, she got another cool cloth, and put it over Kisshu's forehead. Then she sat down next to him.

Soon after, Pai came back and said, "We do, but there's a problem. He can't take the medication on an empty stomach, it's too strong!"

"I guess we'll have to come up with something else," Ichigo said. "I put another cold cloth on his forehead, so that should help a little."

Suddenly Kisshu began crying out in his sleep. The only word that either Pai or Ichigo could make out was 'Kitten'. They looked at each other. "I guess I should wake him up," Ichigo said. She then took Kisshu gently by the shoulders and started saying his name, over and over. After a while, Kisshu started to wake up.

"Kitten?" he asked when he saw Ichigo holding his shoulders. "I-I thought…. I saw you dead. Was that a dream?"

"Yes, it was just a nightmare," Ichigo said comfortingly. "I'm here, and I'm fine. You need to rest though, because you're NOT fine." She gently took her hands off his shoulders. Just in time too, he was starting to look pretty green again, and soon Ichigo was rubbing his back as he threw up again. When he was done, she helped him drink some warm water, and then tucked him back in.

When he was asleep, Pai said, "This doesn't look too good. If he can't take medicine, he can't really get better, either."

"You're right," Ichigo said. "I'd suggest taking him to a hospital, but he's not human, and we'd have a hard time explaining this to my friends, too."

"What are you going to tell them when you get back?" Pai asked. "And what about your parents?"

"My parents are gone for a week, and as for my friends…. I guess I'll just tell the truth; you guys asked me to help Kisshu recover from the stomach flu. I mean, it's not like you hurt me, so they should accept it. Besides, I don't have to worry about Masaya anymore, he dumped me. Maybe I _should _give Kisshu a chance; he's always asking me for a chance anyways. What do you think?"

Pai thought about it, then said, "Well, if you formed an alliance with him, maybe we wouldn't have to fight anymore. That would be good for both of us, right?"

"But what about your planet?" Ichigo asked.

"Mew Aqua can heal it. If we worked together, we could collect all the Mew Aqua, and use it to heal my planet," Pai said.

"That sounds good, but what about your leader?" Ichigo said.

Pai kind of wilted at that, but to their surprise, Kisshu woke up at that moment and said, "I know how to get rid of him."

"And how's that?" Pai asked skeptically.

"Kill his human host," Kisshu replied calmly. "I recently found out who it is."

"And?" Ichigo asked.

"You're not going to like this," Kisshu warned her.

"If it's the treehugger, I could care less, since he dumped me," Ichigo said.

"Oddly enough, it is the treehugger," Kisshu said. Suddenly, he started coughing again, reminding all of them that he was still pretty sick.

"We'll wait to do something about this problem once you've recovered, Kisshu," Ichigo said.

Kisshu nodded, but then turned over and threw up- _again. _

"Kisshu, I'm getting worried," Ichigo said. "You've been throwing up so much lately, I would think that there's nothing left in you."

Kisshu coughed and whispered weakly, "I can't explain it either, Koneko-chan. But one thing I do know is that I _really _don't feel good lately."

"I can see that," Ichigo said. "Hey Pai, I haven't seen Taruto yet today, I think you should go check on him."

Pai looked worried. "What if he's sick too?" Pai wondered.

"Well, if he is, you're going to be the one who gets to take care of him, 'cause I'm not leaving Kisshu," Ichigo said. "Go check on him, and see if you're right."

Pai nodded and left. Soon after, he came back and said, "Yup, Taruto's got the stomach flu too. I'll go take care of him till he gets better, so Ichigo, you're on call for Kisshu."

"Okay," Ichigo said. She looked at Kisshu, who looked back, and she smiled. "I'll take care of you, okay Kisshu?" she said.

"Thanks, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said, falling back to sleep. Pai left the two of them alone, and went to care for Taruto.

**The rest of the time that Kisshu is sick will focus on him and Ichigo. After he gets better, I'm going to add some more fluff, as well as initiate Pai's Mew Aqua plan. I'm going to do one more chapter tonight, and continue this tomorrow.**


	4. Feelings

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 4:**

**Feelings**

Ichigo was watching Kisshu sleep. He was still weak and getting sick several times a day, but his fever had gone down slightly. At least it wasn't a high fever, only a mild one now. The only thing he could drink was warm water, unfortunately, so until he could keep things down, he was going to have to stay in bed. He was too weak to sit up, so Ichigo had to help him. Frankly, she thought that his fever going down was a miracle, since he hadn't taken any medicine for it. She was still grateful, though.

She was also surprised that Pai had actually suggested that they form an alliance. He was always the most dead set against cooperation that it was surprising that he would even consider other options. Ichigo wondered if maybe Lettuce was having an effect on him. She hadn't seen Pai since yesterday, when he went to go take care of Taruto, so she couldn't ask that question. She put that out of her mind though, since she wanted to think about her feelings toward Kisshu.

As Ichigo watched Kisshu, she was actually surprised that she never noticed how cute he was. He looked totally different sleeping. Despite the fact that he was sweaty from the fever, he was still undeniably cute. Ichigo smiled softly. Since Masaya had dumped her, she actually had been thinking more about what it would be like to have Kisshu as her boyfriend.

Her thinking was cut short by Kisshu coughing again. As she expected, he turned over and threw up into the bucket after the coughing fit. Ichigo, as usual, rubbed his back until he stopped. _At least he always makes it to the bucket, so I don't have to clean the floors, _Ichigo thought. She poured glass of warm water for Kisshu, and helped him drink it, but this time, it didn't seem to help, as he started throwing up again after drinking it. Ichigo was now getting worried, since this hadn't happened before. She also noticed that the bucket was getting full again, and as Kisshu stopped, she said, "I have to go empty that bucket again, Kisshu, so try to hold it till I get back, okay?"

Kisshu nodded, and Ichigo ran to the bathroom, and emptied the bucket quickly. Worried that Kisshu might get sick again, she quickly went back to his room and put the bucket next to his bed again. Luckily, it seemed that he was done throwing up, at least for now. She poured some more water, but this time said, "Just wash your mouth out, don't drink any right now. You seem to be throwing up more when you drink, not less."

**Kisshu's POV**

Kisshu washed his mouth out, and tried to go back to sleep. This proved to be difficult, however, as he felt really sick. He heard Ichigo muttering, "Was there something in that water?" Then she left, and Kisshu attempted to go back to sleep again. After the fifth time he woke up thinking he was about to throw up, he gave up sleeping and just lay there, awake and frustrated. _I hate being sick…._he thought. Then Ichigo came back and said, "Well, Pai is sick too. I guess I'm going to be here a while. I'm thinking there might be too many germs in the water glass, so I'm going to go wash it and get another. Will you be okay by yourself for a few?"

"I think so," Kisshu said, just before he got sick again. He noticed Ichigo looked worried, but there really wasn't much he could do about that in his current condition.

**End POV**

Ichigo was really worried as Kisshu started throwing up AGAIN. _I'm starting to wonder if something else is wrong, because even for a bad stomach flu, I don't think this is normal,_ she thought. She couldn't ask Pai, and since she was on the aliens' spaceship, asking anyone else was out of the question. She had her cell phone, but calling and explaining this situation to anyone was pretty much committing suicide. _I guess I just have to rely on my wits, _Ichigo thought. As soon as Kisshu stopped throwing up, she got up and went to wash the glasses and the pitcher. She washed them with soap and boiling hot water, and then left them to dry, getting new ones on her way back to Kisshu. When she got back, he was still awake.

"You really should sleep, Kisshu," Ichigo said.

"I can't sleep, I don't feel good," Kisshu said. His voice was only a croak now, his throat raw from so much throwing up.

This statement worried Ichigo. If Kisshu couldn't sleep, how would he get better? She didn't have much time to think about this, since Kisshu was coughing again. Unexpectedly, after the coughing fit stopped, he didn't throw up. _Maybe he finally has nothing left, _Ichigo thought. She got a glass of warm water, and gave him a sip. He was able to keep it down this time, so she gave him a little more. Finally he drained the glass. Surprisingly, he had managed to keep it all down. Last time, he didn't even finish, before getting sick again.

_Well, this is a step in the right direction, _Ichigo thought.

**That's it for tonight, folks. I'm going to update tomorrow.**


	5. Relapse

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 5:**

**Relapse**

Before she went to bed that night, Ichigo gave Kisshu some more water. She had also checked on Pai and Taruto, to make sure they weren't too sick. Luckily, Pai seemed to be recovering already, so Ichigo figured that he would be able to take care of himself soon. She saw that Taruto was still sick, and emptied his bucket for him. Then she went back to Kisshu, who was finally asleep. Seeing this, Ichigo decided to go to bed as well.

The next morning, she woke up without having to hear Kisshu coughing. He was sleeping peacefully, and as she watched, he started to wake up. When he saw her standing over him, he said, "Morning, Koneko-chan."

"Morning, Kisshu," Ichigo said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"I think I'm feeling better," Kisshu said. "I still feel really weak, but my stomach seems to have settled down a bit."

"That's great!" Ichigo said. "Do you think you're up for some soup or something? It'll help the weakness, which is probably from not eating for three days."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "Can you make ramen?"

"Sure, but I'm not going to give you the noodles yet," Ichigo said. "We need to see if you can keep the broth down before giving you more solid food."

"Okay," Kisshu said.

Ichigo smiled at him and went to make the ramen. She set the noodles aside when it was done, and brought the bowl of broth back to Kisshu. She handed him the bowl, and he drank it slowly. When he was done, Ichigo took the bowl back and took it back to the kitchen. Then she came back.

"How was it?" she asked Kisshu.

"It was good," Kisshu said. "I'm tired now, though."

Ichigo tucked him back in and said, "Go to sleep, I'll be right here."

Soon after, Kisshu was asleep.

Two hours later, Kisshu was crying out in his sleep, and Ichigo was trying to wake him up. She finally succeeded, and said, "Are you okay?"

"Ichigo? You're alive?" Kisshu said dazedly.

"Yes, I think you had another nightmare," Ichigo said. "I'm fine."

Kisshu sighed, relieved. Suddenly, he turned away from Ichigo again. She was puzzled at first, but then Kisshu started throwing up again. Ichigo rubbed his back, trying to help, but he didn't stop this time. He just kept heaving. After about five minutes, he started to calm down a bit, but was still hanging over the edge of the bed. Ichigo was really worried. None of his other fits had lasted this long. She started to pour a glass of water for him, but he started throwing up again before she could help him drink it.

_This is bad, _Ichigo thought. Kisshu looked like he couldn't stop, and his breathing was getting harsher. He was turning pale, too. Finally Kisshu stopped throwing up, and started gasping for air. When his breathing returned to normal, he whispered, "I guess I still shouldn't be eating…."

"Kisshu, I'm really worried about you," Ichigo said. "Pai and Taruto don't have it this bad. Pai's already getting better, and while Taruto's still sick, he's not throwing up nearly as much as you are. Even for a bad stomach flu, this doesn't seem normal to me."

"I can't explain it either," Kisshu whispered. "All I know is that I don't feel well."

"I'm going to go see if Pai's any better," Ichigo said. "Maybe he'll have some idea of what to do. Will you be okay on your own for a while?"

"Yeah, I can't do much, so I'll just try to go back to sleep," Kisshu whispered. It was pretty obvious he couldn't talk above a whisper.

Ichigo nodded and left. When she entered Pai's room, she was surprised to see him up already. "Pai, are you feeling better?" she asked.

"Actually, I'm feeling a lot better," Pai replied.

"That's good, because I think something's really wrong with Kisshu," Ichigo said. "It's like he can't stop throwing up, even though he's been unable to eat anything. He said he felt like eating this morning, so I gave him some broth, but two hours later, he was throwing up almost nonstop. I'm worried there's something else wrong with him."

"Okay, I'll have a look," Pai said. He followed Ichigo back to Kisshu's room. Kisshu was asleep, but he looked really sick. Pai walked over and put a hand on Kisshu's chest. His hand started to glow, until he finally took it off. "It looks like you were right, Ichigo," Pai said. "He has the stomach flu, but he also seems to have some kind of Cyniclon disease, that makes the person who has it throw up nonstop. The combination is probably what's causing this. I have some medicine, but we have to be careful with it. Too much can be lethal."

"In that case, you should give him the medicine," Ichigo said. "I'll try to wake him up while you get it, okay?"

"Sure," said Pai. He left to go to the medical ward of their ship. Meanwhile, Ichigo was trying to wake Kisshu up. She started stroking his hair, softly saying his name until he finally opened his eyes.

He looked at her quizzically, and she said, "Pai has some medicine for you. Apparently you have some kind of Cyniclon illness as well as the stomach flu, and that's why you're getting sick so much."

"Oh…" Kisshu trailed off as he turned over and threw up again. By the time he was done, Pai was back, and he had the medicine and a spoon.

"Kisshu, you need to take a spoonful of this, and then go back to sleep," Pai said. "You're not going to get better if you don't."

"Okay," Kisshu whispered. Pai poured some of the medicine onto the spoon, and held it out to Kisshu, who swallowed it. After he was done swallowing, Kisshu lay back and settled down to sleep.

Pai beckoned to Ichigo, who followed him out of the room. "The medicine will take effect within the next 24 hours," Pai told Ichigo. "Till then, don't give Kisshu anything to eat or drink. The medicine will keep him asleep until it takes effect. When he wakes up, he should be feeling better, but he'll still be very weak. He probably won't be fully recovered for another three to four days. I'd like you to stay with him till he recovers, since you seem to be capable of taking care of him, and I have to look after Taruto."

"Okay," Ichigo said. She went back into the room, and sat down next to Kisshu, who was starting to look a little better already.

**Next chapter, Kisshu gets better! **


	6. Recovery

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 6:**

**Recovery**

Ichigo was still in Kisshu's room that night. It was about midnight, and she was really tired, so she decided to go to sleep. Kisshu didn't seem to be waking up, so she figured he'd probably be up sometime tomorrow.

The next morning, Ichigo got up and checked on Kisshu. He was sleeping peacefully, and looked a lot better than last night. She sat down on the chair next to his bed, waiting for him to wake up.

Finally, about an hour later, Kisshu began to stir, opening his golden eyes to see Ichigo looking down at him. Ichigo was relieved to see him awake, and asked, "How are you feeling, Kisshu?"

Kisshu replied, "Well, my stomach doesn't feel queasy anymore, and I don't think I'm going to throw up like the last few times I woke up. I still feel really weak though; I don't think I can sit up."

"Well, Pai said that the medicine would help you stop throwing up, but that you would be pretty weak for the next three or four days," Ichigo said. "He also said not to give you anything to eat or drink."

"I understand not eating, but why can't I drink anything?" Kisshu asked.

"Pai didn't explain that, but he told me to get him as soon as you woke up. Can you manage on your own until I find him?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, and it's not like I'm going anywhere in this condition," Kisshu said.

Ichigo smiled at him, and went to get Pai. When she found him, she said, "Kisshu's awake, do you want to come and see him?"

"Hai, thanks for telling me," Pai said, following Ichigo back to Kisshu's room. When they got there, Kisshu was still awake, and looking a lot better.

"Hey Pai," Kisshu said.

"Glad to see you awake, Kisshu," Pai said. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," said Kisshu. "I think the medicine is working."

"Good, it's supposed to," Pai said. "You should take it easy for a few days. You can have something to drink this afternoon, but you really shouldn't eat until tomorrow. You should probably go back to sleep, it'll help you recover."

"Can I stay up a while longer?" Kisshu asked. "I'd like to talk to Ichigo."

"I guess there's no harm in that, but don't push yourself. If you feel tired, go to sleep. And if you start feeling sick again, have Ichigo come get me," Pai said.

"Okay, thanks Pai," Kisshu said. Pai nodded and left the room.

"So what did you want to talk about, Kisshu?" Ichigo asked.

"What are we going to do after I get better?" Kisshu asked. "You'll have to go home, right?"

"Yes, but don't you remember Pai saying that we should collect the Mew Aqua together, and use it to save your planet?" Ichigo asked.

"That's not really what I meant," Kisshu said. "I meant, what will happen to you and me?"

"Well, if we're working together, there shouldn't be a problem with you and me being a couple," Ichigo said. "We'll have to get it past my dad, but I'm sure we can work something out."

"Your dad is scary," Kisshu said. "What if he doesn't like me?"

"We'll worry about that when you're fully recovered. You shouldn't get too worked up; it's bad for you. Don't worry, we can work it out," Ichigo said confidently.

"Okay," Kisshu said. Then he yawned. "I'm getting tired," he said.

"Go to sleep," Ichigo said. "I'll be right here, okay?"

"Sure…." Kisshu said as he fell asleep.

Kisshu woke up again later that day, and Ichigo gave him a glass of water. Pai had said that orange juice would be too acidic for Kisshu's stomach, so he had to have water. Soon after drinking it, Kisshu went back to sleep, and since it was getting to be nighttime, Ichigo did the same.

The next day, Kisshu was feeling a lot better, and said he actually felt hungry. Ichigo conferred with Pai, and made Kisshu some broth again. It would probably be a few more days before he could eat solid food again. At this point, solid food could make him sick again. Ichigo helped Kisshu drink the broth, and then helped him lie down again. Kisshu was still weak, so he was sleeping a lot. Ichigo used the time he spent sleeping cleaning up. She also took a shower, since she hadn't had one in a few days. Kisshu had been too sick for her to feel comfortable leaving him. She also changed her clothes, and cleaned the bucket Kisshu had been using out with hot water and soap.

She noticed that Kisshu's room was pretty messy, so she cleaned up the piles, and, after asking Pai, did some laundry in the ship's laundry room. She wanted Kisshu to have some clean clothes when he was back on his feet. She left his desk untouched, in case he had private stuff in there.

Ichigo realized that it had been more than a week since Pai had brought her here, so her parents were probably back. She also knew her friends were probably worried, but she felt like she needed to be there for Kisshu, so she let it go. One thing that puzzled her was that while she had her cell phone, it hadn't rung once. So either no one had called her, or Pai had something to do with it. She found that she didn't really mind; after all, if she answered a call, she'd have to give one hell of an explanation. No one was going to be pleased when she came back, but for now, she didn't want to worry about it. Kisshu was the one who needed her now, not anyone else. And since Pai and Taruto were on the ship, there had been no alien attacks while Ichigo was there.

On the third day since Kisshu had taken the medicine, Ichigo woke up, and went to check on Kisshu. He woke up as she walked over, and said, "I feel a lot better than I did a few days ago. Do you think I could get up?"

"Can you sit up?" Ichigo asked. "I don't want you to push yourself too much."

"I think I can sit up, I haven't tried yet," Kisshu said. He slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. Ichigo watched him carefully, in case he fell again, but this time he didn't fall. Instead, he manged to sit up with almost no trouble, and didn't look too tired out from it.

"That's great, Kisshu!" Ichigo said. "Do you want to try standing?"

"Yeah," said Kisshu. He pulled back the mound of blankets, and slowly put his feet on the floor. He stood up slowly, but he looked a bit shaky, and Ichigo came over to steady him. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Kisshu admitted. "I'm kind of dizzy."

"You should sit back down," Ichigo said, and she helped him back to the bed. He sat down, then pulled the covers back over his legs, and lay back.

"The room is spinning…." Kisshu said, then he closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Ichigo smoothed a hand over his hair, and pulled the covers up over the rest of him. Then she sat down in the chair.

Pai came in a few minutes after Kisshu fell asleep, and asked, "So how is he?"

Ichigo replied, "He can sit up on his own now, but he's still not ready to stand. He tried it, and said he felt dizzy. The weakness is better, but he's going to need some more time to recover."

"Okay," Pai said. "Thanks for taking care of him, Ichigo."

"Sure Pai," Ichigo said.

Then Pai said something that surprised Ichigo. "Do you want to go home, now that Kisshu's starting to get better?"

Her answer also surprised Pai. "No, I'll stay until Kisshu's okay on his own. How's Taruto?"

"He's getting there. He didn't have the same thing Kisshu did, so he'll be up sooner," Pai said. "You've changed."

"What do you mean?" Ichigo asked, startled.

"A while ago, you would have been totally against helping Kisshu, and here you are, not even asking to go home, just so you can care for him," Pai explained.

"I guess you're right," Ichigo said. "I also realized that Kisshu actually does love me, and I think I love him, too. Since the treehugger broke up with me, I guess I started thinking about what it would be like to have Kisshu as a boyfriend, since he's told me all along that he loved me."

"I'm glad to hear that you have feelings for him," Pai said. "You don't have any idea what it's like around here when you reject him. He'll be thrilled to hear that you love him. He loves you with all his heart, you know."

"I think I finally realized that," Ichigo said.

Both Pai and Ichigo were startled to hear Kisshu say, "I'm glad, Koneko-chan."

Ichigo turned and said, "Kisshu! You're awake!"

"Yep," Kisshu said. "It's nice to know that you love me now. I've loved you for a long time, Ichigo."

"Thanks, Kisshu, it's nice to know that someone loves me," Ichigo said.

Kisshu smiled happily.

**Next chapter coming soon!**


	7. Going Home

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 7:**

**Going Home**

Two days after Ichigo and Kisshu confessed their love to each other, Kisshu was back to full strength. He was able to fly and teleport again, and much to his relief, eat solid food. Ichigo had to constantly remind him not to eat too fast, because he was really hungry and tended to eat waaay too fast as a result. Taruto had recovered completely as well, and of course Pai was already fine.

To all of their sorrow, Ichigo was going home tomorrow. However, since Pai had come up with another alternative to fighting, and they now knew how to get rid of Deep Blue, the Cyniclons were all going to teleport Ichigo back to Café Mew Mew, so they could hopefully work something out. The main problem was getting rid of the treehugger.

Ichigo was somewhat sad to be leaving. She had enjoyed her time with Kisshu, despite how sick he had been, and she had finally realized who her real true love was. Both she and Kisshu were sad to have to stop living together, but if the plans worked, they would be seeing a lot of each other anyways.

Finally the time to take Ichigo back came. They waited until the time Café Mew Mew closed, then teleported Ichigo to the Café. She had her stuff with her, and was going to help the Cyniclons explain the new plan.

When they appeared in the main area of the Café, all the other Mews were there already. Of course, the appearance of Ichigo and the aliens sent them into defense mode. Before they could transform, though, Ichigo shouted, "STOP!"

Everyone froze. Unfortunately the noise brought Ryou and Keiichiro running. "ICHIGO?" they shouted when they saw her.

"What is going on here?" Ryou snarled. "Why did those aliens have to come?"

"We came to talk," Ichigo said.

"Does this have something to do with you being gone for three weeks?" Zakuro asked.

"Yeah," said Ichigo. "Three weeks ago, Pai and Taruto came to my house and kidnapped me. I found out that the reason for this was because Kisshu was sick and they didn't recognize what he had. So they decided to bring me in to help him. It turned out he had a really bad stomach flu, so I just stayed to take care of him. Then Pai and Taruto got sick too, although not as bad as Kisshu, so they couldn't teleport. I stayed to take care of Kisshu, not because I was forced to."

"But why were you gone for so long?" Ryou asked.

"Kisshu's only been back on his feet for about two days," Ichigo replied. "He was really sick, so like I said, I decided to take care of him."

"And what did you come here to talk about?" Keiichiro asked.

Pai replied, "We think there's a solution to the fighting. If we gathered all the Mew Aqua together, it could be used to heal our planet. Then we wouldn't have to attack anymore."

"And your leader?" Ryou asked skeptically.

"We have a plan, but you might not like it," Kisshu said.

"What is it?" Zakuro asked.

"Our leader has a human host in this world, who is essential to his rise to power," Pai said. "That human is Aoyama Masaya. If we kill him, the problem of our leader should be solved."

"Ichigo-san, is that really okay?" Lettuce asked.

"He dumped me for no reason, so I could care less," Ichigo said. "Besides, I'm dating Kisshu."

Naturally, everyone's jaws dropped.

"YOU'RE WHAT?" Ryou shouted.

"You heard me," Ichigo said. "I love him, and he loves me."

"BUT WHY HIM?" Ryou shouted.

"I just told you, I love him," Ichigo said. Suddenly, she thought of something, and said, "You didn't _really _believe I'd date you, did you?"

Ryou turned white. "How did you guess that?" he asked.

"The fact that you sound jealous gave it away," Ichigo said. "Otherwise I'd never have guessed. You act so nasty to me I would never have dated you."

Ryou drooped.

Bringing the conversation back to where it started, Zakuro said, "Well, I think that we should go along with Pai's plan. It would be nice not to have to fight each other anymore."

"Does that mean that Taru-Taru and Pudding can be real friends now, na no da?" Pudding asked.

"Sure," Ichigo said, winking at Taruto, who turned red.

"I never thought we should fight from the start," Lettuce said. "I'm all for this plan."

"Well, if Oneesama says it's fine, so do I," Mint said.

Keiichiro said, "Well, we might as well accept it- right Ryou?"

Ryou stopped sulking and said, "I don't trust aliens, but I guess I'm overruled. I'm going to the basement. You can figure this out on your own." He walked off.

"Well, at least we won't have to fight tooth and nail to get him to cooperate," Ichigo said.

"Yeah…." The others all said.

Suddenly Ichigo remembered something, and said, "What about my parents? Did you guys hear from them at all?"

"We haven't, actually, and that's kind of worrisome, since they were supposed to be back two weeks ago," Keiichiro said. "Maybe you should go home and see if they left any messages."

"Want me to teleport you, Koneko-chan?" Kisshu asked.

"That's great, thanks Kisshu!" Ichigo said.

Kisshu smiled and took her hand.

**Okay, that's Chapter 7. If you guys have ideas for what happened to Ichigo's parents, let me know!**


	8. Bad News

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 8:**

**Bad News**

Kisshu teleported Ichigo to her room, and let go of her hand. Ichigo smiled at him and put her bag down. "I'm going to check the answering machine," she told Kisshu. "Do you want to come?"

"Nah, I'll stay here," Kisshu said.

"Fine, but no going through my drawers," Ichigo said. "I know what you're like."

Kisshu pouted, but Ichigo ignored that, and went downstairs. When she got to the answering machine, she saw that there was one message. She pressed the 'Play' button. This is what the message said:

"_Momomiya Ichigo? This is the Gakuno Travel Agency. We regret to inform you that the ship your parents were on became caught in a hurricane, and sank. We're terribly sorry, but none of the passengers survived the wreck. We deeply apologize to you, and offer our sincere condolences on the loss of your parents."_

Ichigo fell to her knees in shock, and started sobbing. _How could this happen? _She thought. _Mom… Dad… WHY?_

Kisshu was upstairs when he heard Ichigo begin sobbing. He ran downstairs in a panic, completely forgetting about teleporting. What he saw worried him. Ichigo was on her knees, her head buried in her hands, sobbing.

"Ichigo! What's wrong?" Kisshu cried out, worried. He ran over and wrapped his arms around her.

"M-my parents…. T-they're DEAD!" Ichigo wailed, and started sobbing again.

Kisshu was shocked. Nevertheless, he held Ichigo close and started rocking back and forth, humming a lullaby he remembered from his childhood to her. She slowly stopped sobbing, but the tears continued to run down her face.

"Kisshu, what am I going to do now?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know. But I'll always be here for you, Ichigo," Kisshu said. "Everyone will help you get through this- the other Mews, Keiichiro, Ryou, Pai and Taruto will all help, I'm sure of it."

"Thanks, Kisshu," Ichigo said. Kisshu leaned down and kissed her forehead, as she started to go to sleep in his arms. He teleported them back to Ichigo's room and set her down on the bed. Then he turned out the light and lay down next to her, covering them both with a blanket.

**Sorry it's short, but I wanted to not do a cliffie for once.**


	9. The Treehugger's Return

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 9:**

**The Treehugger Returns**

The next morning, Kisshu woke up before Ichigo. When he tried to get up, however, he noticed that Ichigo's arms were locked around his waist. He was rather surprised when Ichigo snuggled up to him in her sleep. He didn't want to wake her, so he lay back down and let her snuggle.

A little while later, Ichigo woke up, and squeaked, noticing she was hugging Kisshu and that he was wide awake, smirking. She quickly pulled away, turning bright red.

"Well, that's something I don't see every day," Kisshu commented, still smirking. "My kitten is hugging me."

"That's just because of the cat genes," Ichigo said. "I just snuggled up to the warmest thing in the room." She didn't really sound convincing, and Kisshu's smirk widened.

"Aw, come on Koneko-chan, you know that's not really true," Kisshu said. "You just like me too much to stay away."

Suddenly Ichigo's cell phone started ringing. She got up and looked at the caller ID, then answered with a "What do YOU want?"

Masabaka- because that's who was on the phone- said, "Can we get back together?"

"Hell no, I already have someone else, and I'm not going to leave him," Ichigo said, and hung up before Masabaka could say anything else.

"What was that?" Kisshu asked.

"That stupid treehugger wanted to get back together," Ichigo said. "What an idiot."

"I couldn't agree more," Kisshu said. "By the way, are we going to tell everyone about your parents?"

"I guess so," Ichigo said sadly. "I was hoping that that was just a dream."

"I lost my parents when I was six," Kisshu said sadly. "I know how you feel. At least Pai and Taruto's family was willing to take me in."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you had no parents," Ichigo said. "I'm going to go take a shower and get dressed. It's almost time for me to go to the Café anyways."

"Okay," Kisshu said. Suddenly he stood up and hugged her tightly. When she looked at him, he kissed her. To his surprise, she kissed back, as her eyes slid closed. When they broke apart, Kisshu said, "I was just trying to make you feel better."

"Thanks, Kisshu," Ichigo said. She gathered up some clothes and left.

After she was done, she got dressed in a blue skirt and a long-sleeved pink shirt with a cat face on the front. Then she went back to her room, where she found that Kisshu was wandering around, looking at stuff in her room. _At least he didn't go in my drawers… _she thought. She went over to her dresser and got her ribbons, then tied up her hair in her usual two pigtails. Then she saw Masabaka's bell, and decided to throw it away.

"Hey Kisshu, would you like to throw this out the window, or should I?" Ichigo asked, holding up the bell.

"Can I do it?" Kisshu asked excitedly.

Ichigo smiled at his enthusiasm, and said, "Sure." She handed him the bell, and he hurled it out the open window. Suddenly they both heard a loud, "OW!" from the street.

Ichigo and Kisshu looked at each other. "I wonder who we hit?" Ichigo said.

"Should we go see?" Kisshu asked.

"I guess," Ichigo said. The two of them went downstairs and out the front door. Surprisingly, they saw Masabaka outside, rubbing his head.

He glared at them. "What was that for?" he asked.

"We actually didn't know anyone was out here, but it worked out well anyways, right Koneko-chan?" Kisshu said, smirking.

"Yep," Ichigo said. "Pretty funny if you think about it, we managed to hit the person who gave me that thing in the first place. Good aim, Kisshu."

"Thanks," Kisshu replied.

"You two do know I'm still here, right?" Masabaka said.

"Yeah, so?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, I decided to come see you, since you refused me. I thought maybe I could convince you to change your mind," Masabaka said.

"Baka, I'm not going to change my mind. I suggest you give it up, because I'm with Kisshu now," Ichigo said firmly.

"But he's one of the aliens attacking Tokyo! Why would you go out with someone who's not even human?" Masabaka asked.

"Because I love him. Now go away," Ichigo said. Masabaka stormed off angrily.

"I don't think we've seen the last of him," Kisshu said.

"Well, I'm a Mew Mew, so I think I can handle it. Besides, since we're together, he's lost his chance at being my boyfriend," Ichigo said.

"I'm glad to hear that," Kisshu said. "You don't know how long I've wanted you to love me."

Ichigo smiled and kissed him. When they broke apart, she said, "I'm glad Pai kidnapped me. If he hadn't, we wouldn't be together now."

"I guess you're right," Kisshu said. "Who knew Pai would be good for something?"

"That's not very nice, Kisshu," Ichigo said teasingly.

Both of them jumped when Pai said from behind them, "I agree with Ichigo, Kisshu."

"PAI! When did you get here?" Kisshu said. "You startled me!"

"Well, I'm supposed to take you two to Café Mew Mew, because everyone's worried about Ichigo's parents," Pai said. Ichigo's face fell. Pai noticed, and said, "Something happened, right?"

"My parents died in a shipwreck," Ichigo said sadly.

"I'm really sorry to hear that, Ichigo," Pai said.

"Thanks, Pai," Ichigo said.

"Let's go to the Café," Pai said. "You'll have to tell the others this at some point."

"Okay," Ichigo said quietly. Kisshu took her hand, and they teleported to Café Mew Mew.

When they got there, everyone, even Ryou, came running. "Ichigo, what happened?" they all asked.

"My parents are dead. The cruise ship they were on got caught in a hurricane, and none of the passengers survived. I got a call from the travel agency," Ichigo said. She started crying again.

"Oh, Ichigo…" everyone said.

Lettuce spoke for everyone when she said, "Ichigo, we're really sorry. We'll all help you get through this, okay?"

"Okay…" Ichigo said. "Thanks, guys."

Kisshu hugged her, and looked at the others. "Group hug?" he asked.

As a response, everyone pounced on Ichigo and Kisshu (except Pai and Ryou, of course). Even Zakuro and Keiichiro joined in. When everyone got up, Ichigo had stopped crying.

"Thanks again, guys," she said. "I appreciate it."

**I don't know if this came out the way I wanted it to, but I hope you like the fluff. I need ideas for some action next chapter, okay? *gives reviewers the imacutelittleneko face***


	10. Disappearance

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 10:**

**Disappearance**

That night, Kisshu stayed with Ichigo again. Pai and Taruto went back to the ship, but Ichigo wanted Kisshu to stay with her, and he was more than happy to do so. It turned out that the Café had been closed since Ichigo's disappearance. The others couldn't handle the work load, so Ryou and Keiichiro had admitted defeat and closed it up. Ryou was still sulking, so Keiichiro decided not to open up for a while longer. After all, Ichigo wasn't really up for working anyways.

Over the next few days, Kisshu stayed with Ichigo, doing his best to cheer her up. All her friends came by, and even Pai and Taruto came by. They all helped her get through her sorrow. There had been no reason for the Mews to transform lately, so they all spent time relaxing and visiting Ichigo. Little did they know, however, the peace was about to be broken.

One day, Ichigo received a phone call from her friend Moe, at school. "Hi Moe, what's up?" Ichigo asked.

"Ichigo! Masaya has disappeared!" Moe wailed.

"Well, that's not good," Ichigo said. "Nobody's heard from him?"

"Why are you so calm about this?" Moe asked, puzzled.

"Masaya dumped me for absolutely no reason, so I don't really mind," Ichigo said. "Besides, my new boyfriend hates him, so it's not like we really care."

"Your dad would be happy to hear that," Moe said.

"I take it that means you didn't hear the news," Ichigo said sadly.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Moe asked.

"Yeah, my parents went on a cruise, but the ship they were on sank," Ichigo sniffed.

"Oh, that's terrible! I'm so sorry, Ichigo!" Moe said. "Is that why you haven't been in school?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said, while thinking, _I completely forgot about school! _

Then Moe said, "Well, you only missed about two days, since it's summer vacation for the next two months."

"That's a relief," Ichigo sighed.

"Yeah," Moe said. "Do you want me to tell Miwa about your parents?"

"Um… Sure," Ichigo said. "Thanks, Moe."

"Sure," Moe said. "Ja ne!"

"Ja ne," Ichigo said, and hung up.

Kisshu asked, "Who was that?"

"My friend Moe," Ichigo said. "She says Masabaka disappeared."

"I wonder if it has something to do with Deep Blue," Kisshu said thoughtfully. "He must have noticed that we're not there when he calls us anymore."

"Well, that's not good," Ichigo said. "We should warn the other Mews, and Pai and Taruto too."

"Yeah," Kisshu said. He grabbed her hand and teleported to Café Mew Mew.

Once there, they went to the basement, where they found Ryou and Keiichiro. "What's up?" Keiichiro asked.

"The treehugger disappeared," Kisshu said. "We think it might have something to do with Deep Blue."

"That doesn't sound good," Ryou said. "What if Pai and Taruto have him?"

"They'd usually tell me first, but I'll go see if they know anything," Kisshu said. He teleported off to the ship.

Ryou turned to Ichigo. "Is it really okay to let him stay at your house?" he asked.

"Well, it's not like anyone's going to object but you, you stuck-up jerk," Ichigo snapped. "I'm sick of your suspicions."

"I just don't trust them," Ryou said.

"They have proven that they don't mean us any harm, Ryou," Keiichiro said. "After all, they never hurt Ichigo while she was with them."

"I just don't get why they'd suggest an alliance now," Ryou said. "They won't really gain anything from it."

"Well, they'll be able to save their home planet, and Kisshu, at least, finally got what he wanted. I think it works both ways, they get to save their home, and we don't have to worry about attacks," Ichigo said. "I wonder if Pai will get what he wants?"

"What do you think Pai wants?" Keiichiro asked.

"I don't think I'll tell you," Ichigo said with a smirk. "It's a secret. And Taruto already got what he wanted too…"

"So what did Kisshu and Taruto want?" Ryou asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Me and Pudding," Ichigo said. "Both of them and both of us are really happy now!"

Ryou went back into sulking mode, as Ichigo smiled and continued, "Kisshu's been so helpful to me since my parents' death."

Suddenly Keiichiro beckoned to Ichigo, who followed him out, puzzled. When they got outside, Keiichiro said, "Try not to upset Ryou too much, okay? He's already upset that you're with Kisshu, you don't need to make it worse."

"But why does he care?" Ichigo asked. "He was never nice to me before, so why now? Is it just because my parents are dead?"

"He always loved you, he just didn't want to show it," Keiichiro said. "Unfortunately for him, his little act made you hate him, and that's why he's sulking."

"Oh," said Ichigo. "Well, I guess he'll just have to get over me, because I only love Kisshu, and I want to be faithful to him."

"I'm just glad you have someone," Keiichiro said with a smile.

"Thanks, Keiichiro," Ichigo said.

Suddenly Kisshu returned, with Pai and Taruto. "Hey guys, I brought Pai and Taruto," Kisshu said.

"Good," Keiichiro said. "I'll call the Mews."

**Somewhat of a cliffhanger… But I'll update soon!**


	11. Again?

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 11:**

**Again?**

Soon the Mews and Cyniclons were all gathered in the basement of Café Mew Mew. As soon as everyone was settled, Pai stood up and said, "I did a scan on our radar for Aoyama, and didn't come up with anything. That suggests he's either in another dimension, or back on our planet. I'd say that another dimension would be more likely. It seems certain that Deep Blue has something to do with this, but I'm not exactly sure what to do next."

"Is there no way of finding out which dimension the treehugger might be in?" Ichigo asked.

"There are too many dimensions out there to tell. I would guess Deep Blue's dimension, but we can only get there if he calls us. Otherwise no one can get in or out," Pai explained.

"So what other options do we have?" Zakuro asked.

"We might have to wait until Deep Blue actually awakens, but that wouldn't be too good, because he'd be extremely powerful," Pai said. "I guess I could go back and do some searching, see if I can find some other way into his dimension."

"That would be good," Ichigo said. "Do you mind?"

"Not at all," Pai said. "I'll go get right on it." He teleported away.

"Well, I guess we just have to wait until Pai finds something, or Deep Blue attacks," Kisshu commented. The others nodded, and the meeting broke up.

Kisshu and Ichigo went back to her house, and up to her room. They had been sleeping together every night, and were growing very close. Ichigo discovered that she was much happier with Kisshu than with Masabaka.

Ichigo flopped down on her bed, and Kisshu sat next to her. "It's good that Masabaka disappeared _after _I decided he was a good-for-nothing treehugger," Ichigo commented.

"Yeah, fighting your boyfriend would be hard," Kisshu said. "I always hated fighting you. I thought it would be better if we had met as friends, not enemies. I'm glad we worked things out."

"Me too," Ichigo said with a smile. Then she kissed him, and he kissed back. They pulled apart, and smiled at each other. Suddenly Kisshu's smile faded, and he rubbed his forehead.

"Kisshu, is something wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"I have a headache," Kisshu said.

Ichigo looked worried. "I hope you're not getting sick again," she said. "That would be really bad timing."

"Yeah… I was fine a minute ago, but now I have a headache," Kisshu said.

"Are you feeling stressed? Sometimes that or not drinking enough can cause a headache," Ichigo said.

"I'm not feeling stressed, but I have to admit I didn't really drink much today," Kisshu said.

"Maybe that's it," Ichigo said. "I'll go get some water, and I have headache medication in the bathroom."

"Okay, thanks," Kisshu said.

Ichigo left the room and got some aspirin and a glass of water. Then she went back to her room, and gave the glass of water and aspirin to Kisshu. He swallowed the medicine, and drank the rest of the water.

"I'm kind of tired," Kisshu said.

"Maybe you should take a nap then," Ichigo said. "I'm going to go start dinner, so I'll come get you later."

Kisshu nodded and lay back on Ichigo's bed. Soon after, he was asleep. Ichigo was worried, but she still went to start dinner. She decided to make something simple and light, in case Kisshu was getting sick again.

Once she finished the miso soup, she went upstairs to get Kisshu. Much to her dismay, his face was flushed, and he was fidgeting in his sleep.

_Looks like he's sick again, _Ichigo thought, worried. _Let's hope it's not as bad as last time._ She bent over the bed, and lightly shook Kisshu's shoulder. "Kisshu, it's dinnertime," she said softly.

Kisshu opened his eyes, but didn't seem to be fully awake. "Kisshu, can you get up?" Ichigo asked.

Her voice reached him, and he said, "I think so…" He tried to sit up, and managed it for about ten seconds, before falling back. "I'm dizzy…" he said.

"I'll bring the soup up here," Ichigo said. "Just relax."

Going downstairs, Ichigo ladled some miso soup into a bowl, and brought it upstairs with a spoon.

Kisshu looked up as she came back in. He tried to say something, but suddenly started coughing. "Kisshu, can you eat? I made miso soup. It should help you feel better," Ichigo said.

Kisshu nodded, and Ichigo dragged a chair next to the bed, then sat down and handed Kisshu the bowl and spoon. Kisshu started eating, but about halfway through, put it down. "I'm not really hungry…" he said softly.

Ichigo nodded, and took the bowl from him. "I'm thinking I should tell the others that you're sick again," she said. "Try to go to sleep, I'll be back soon."

Kisshu nodded and lay back against the pillows. Soon after, he was fast asleep, and Ichigo went downstairs to call Pai.

**Well, Kisshu's sick again. And Deep Blue might be awakening soon. What will happen? I wonder…. Review Plz!**


	12. This is a Problem

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 12:**

**This is a Problem…**

Ichigo went downstairs with her cell phone, and scrolled through her contacts, where she had recently put Pai's number. She found his number and pressed 'Call'. After a few rings, Pai picked up and said, "Yes?"

"Pai, I've got some bad news," Ichigo said. "Kisshu is sick again."

"That's bad," said Pai. "I'll be right over, okay?"

"Yeah, sure," Ichigo said, and hung up. About a minute later, Pai appeared in the living room, and Ichigo led him upstairs. Kisshu was still asleep, but he looked pretty sick; his face was flushed and sweaty, and he was fidgeting again.

"Did he say anything to you before this started?" Pai asked Ichigo.

"Well, a while ago he said he suddenly had a headache, and I gave him some headache medicine. He went to sleep after that, and when he woke up, he got dizzy trying to sit up. I gave him some miso soup before calling you," Ichigo said.

Pai nodded and walked over to Kisshu. He put a hand on Kisshu's forehead, and said, "Yep, he's sick alright." Suddenly Kisshu started coughing, which woke him up.

"Pai? Why are you here?" Kisshu asked weakly.

"Ichigo said you were sick, so I came to see if I could help," Pai said.

"Yeah…. I'm not feeling too good…" Kisshu said. "I thought I got over the flu I had, but maybe not."

"How's your stomach, Kisshu?" Ichigo asked.

"Not great…. I think I'm going to…." Kisshu suddenly teleported, and a minute later Ichigo and Pai heard him in the bathroom, throwing up.

Pai and Ichigo looked at each other, worried. "With Deep Blue on the rise, this is really bad timing," Pai said.

"Yeah, Kisshu won't be able to fight like this," Ichigo said. "Can you go tell the others about this?"

"We should check on Kisshu first," Pai said. Ichigo nodded, and they went to the bathroom. Kisshu had collapsed on the floor after throwing up, and he seemed to be unconscious.

"He shouldn't have teleported in that condition," Pai remarked. "I'll put him back to bed. Which room?"

"Might as well be my room, I'll sleep on the floor like on your ship," Ichigo said. "Go put him to bed, I'll go find a bucket." Pai nodded and carried Kisshu back to Ichigo's room. He put Kisshu on Ichigo's bed and tucked him in. Ichigo came in with a large bucket, and put it next to her bed. "He doesn't have that Cyniclon illness again, does he?" she asked Pai.

Pai put a hand on Kisshu's chest. Finally he said, "No, just the stomach flu again. Unfortunately, he might not be okay on his own for a while. I'll go tell the other Mews and Taruto that Kisshu has stomach flu again, and that they have to manage without you for a while."

"Thanks, Pai," Ichigo said. She pulled out her sleeping bag and an extra pillow, and put them at the foot of her bed as Pai teleported off. Ichigo then pulled a chair next to the bed on the other side from the bucket, and sat down to watch over Kisshu.

About two hours later, Kisshu woke up and said, "I hope you didn't have to clean up after me, Koneko-chan."

"No, you managed not to throw up on the floor," Ichigo said gently. "There's a bucket next to you, so if you feel sick again, don't try to teleport, just turn over, like at the ship. Pai said teleporting isn't good for you right now. He also says you don't have the Cyniclon illness you did before, so hopefully you won't get sick as much as last time."

"Well, that's-" Kisshu suddenly clapped a hand over his mouth and turned over quickly, throwing up into the bucket. Ichigo patted him on the back until he stopped.

"Well, this sucks," Kisshu said when he was done. "I can't fight in this condition. How are we going to win if I'm sick?"

"Well, there's more than just you, and the others can handle things on their own," Ichigo said. "Don't worry, I'll protect you."

"I'm supposed to be the one protecting _you," _Kisshu said.

"Just think of it as me returning the favor," Ichigo said.

Kisshu looked like he was about to argue more, but had to turn over and throw up before continuing. By the time he was done, he was looking tired again. Seeing this, Ichigo said, "Go to sleep. I'll be right here if you need me. I'm going to get some warm water for you too."

Kisshu nodded as he started to fall asleep. As soon as he was fast asleep, Ichigo left and got a pitcher of warm water. She grabbed a glass and went back upstairs. Kisshu was sleeping, so she quietly put the pitcher and glass down on her desk, and sat down next to him.

**I know everyone's going to hate me now. This is what happens when I let my imagination run away. If people decide to still review, which I doubt, I would prefer that you not flame me.**


	13. Frustration

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 13:**

**Frustration**

The next day, Ichigo woke up to find Kisshu throwing up in the bucket again. She had heard him at night too. When he stopped, he looked up at her and said, "I HATE this!"

"No one likes being sick, but you have to get through it, okay?" Ichigo said gently. "Don't get too worked up; you'll make yourself worse."

"Easy for you to say; YOU'RE not sick," Kisshu snapped, before getting sick again.

Ichigo sighed. She understood that Kisshu was very frustrated right now; there might be a battle coming up, and he was lying in bed doing nothing. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't keep anything down and his headache hadn't gone away for some reason. He also couldn't sit up anymore; he hadn't eaten in a while, so his previous weakness was back. He wasn't throwing up as much as last time, but he still got sick several times a day, and his cough really wasn't helping. He didn't have a fever anymore, but Ichigo knew that he felt pretty sick. When he wasn't throwing up, he slept a lot, but when he woke up, he was pretty grouchy.

Kisshu threw up again before saying, "I'm sorry, Koneko-chan."

"Why?" Ichigo asked. "It's not your fault you're sick."

"I shouldn't have snapped at you," Kisshu said. "I know you're doing all you can to help me."

"I don't mind, I understand you're frustrated. There's a lot of uncertainty right now, and you don't want to miss the action, right?" Ichigo asked. "I know you like to be active, and lying in bed all day can't be easy. But you just have to get through it. I doubt it'll take three weeks for you to get over this, since Pai said you don't have that Cyniclon disease this time. I'll do my best to help you get through this, okay?"

"Thanks, Ichigo," Kisshu said.

"Anytime, Kisshu," Ichigo said with a smile. Kisshu smiled back, but then went to sleep.

Two hours later, Ichigo was emptying the bucket when she heard Kisshu scream. She made sure to grab the bucket as she ran to her room. She saw that Kisshu was still asleep, and immediately began shaking his shoulder. "Kisshu! Wake up!" she cried out.

Kisshu's eyes shot open, but he seemed to calm down a bit when he saw Ichigo. "I-I thought you were dead," he said. "I saw Deep Blue kill you, and I was still too weak to get up, so he killed you in front of me!"

"Kisshu, it's fine, I'm here and I'm still alive. Deep Blue hasn't been awakened yet, Pai would have told me. Don't worry, I'm fine," Ichigo said soothingly.

She realized she was still holding Kisshu in her arms as he said, "Um… you might want to let go now, I think I'm about to throw up."

Ichigo quickly let go of Kisshu, who immediately turned over and threw up into the bucket. He was about to turn back to Ichigo when it looked like he was done, but suddenly he groaned and said, "I thought I was done..." Then he turned back to the bucket and threw up again. Ichigo rubbed his back until he stopped.

Finally Kisshu turned back to Ichigo and said, "I think I'm getting worse, not better."

"Well, the nightmares are definitely getting worse," Ichigo said. "When you were sick before, you never screamed like that. I wonder if they're some kind of side effect from being sick."

"Maybe…. Hey, do you have stomach medicine? Maybe that would help," Kisshu suggested.

"I guess we could try it," Ichigo said. "But lately you can't even keep water down. How are you going to keep a pill down?"

"I don't know, but isn't it worth a shot?" Kisshu asked.

"You're right, at this point it can't hurt," Ichigo said. She got up and went to the bathroom, where she opened the medicine cabinet and got out a bottle of stomach medicine. She looked at the instructions, and took it back to Kisshu. "It says two per day," Ichigo said. "I'll get you some water."

Kisshu nodded, and Ichigo poured a glass of water, then gave him a tablet. He swallowed it, and slowly drank the rest of the water.

"It might take about an hour before it takes effect," Ichigo said. "I don't know if it'll work, but like you said, it's worth a shot. Maybe some sleep will help."

Kisshu nodded and lay back down. Soon after he was sleeping. Ichigo sat down next to him and started to read a book she had started earlier.

After about an hour, Kisshu started to wake up again. Ichigo put her book down and asked, "How's your stomach, Kisshu?"

"I don't think that medicine was very good for it, I feel awful," Kisshu said. "Maybe the medicine's only meant to work on humans."

"I guess I should have had you read the ingredients list first," Ichigo said. "I hope that nothing in there was poisonous."

"Pai would-" Kisshu broke off, clapping a hand over his mouth before turning over and throwing up again. When he stopped, he said weakly, "That didn't feel good. My stomach is killing me."

"I'm going to call Pai," Ichigo said. "He might know if there was something in that medicine that made you sicker."

"Ok-" Kisshu broke off again as he almost threw up on the bed. He made it to the bucket just in time.

Ichigo took out her cell phone and called Pai. "Pai, I gave Kisshu some stomach medicine, but now he feels worse," Ichigo said when Pai picked up. "I need you to come see if there was anything in the medicine that is poisonous to you guys."

"On my way," Pai said as he hung up. A minute later, he appeared and said, "Show me the bottle."

Ichigo handed the bottle of stomach medicine over, and Pai read the list. "I don't see anything wrong with it," Pai said finally. "Hey, why is there a date on here?"

"That's the expiration date," Ichigo said. "What does it say?"

"This thing expired about two months ago," Pai replied.

"Well, that explains everything," Ichigo said. "Medicine is sort of like food; it can go bad. Strange though, my mom was usually on top of things like that. She would have thrown this away when she saw it was over its expiration date. I guess she missed it."

"Well, is there anything we can do?" Pai asked.

"Unfortunately, no," Ichigo said. "It's like food poisoning; there's no cure."

"That's just gr-" Kisshu broke off as he threw up again.

"Food poisoning usually doesn't last too long," Ichigo said. "Kisshu should be over the extra pain by tomorrow morning."

"That's good," said Pai. "I have to get going. Kisshu, I hope you feel better soon."

"Yeah, me t-" Kisshu said, breaking off as he threw up. Pai nodded to Ichigo and teleported off.

"He didn't want to hang around, I guess," Kisshu said.

"He probably doesn't want to get sick," Ichigo said. "I'm really sorry, Kisshu."

"Hey, I just thought of something," Kisshu said. "How come you haven't gotten sick yet, being around all of us?"

"I got a flu shot, so I'm pretty much immune to it right now," Ichigo explained. "I'm glad I did, too, otherwise I wouldn't be able to take care of you."

"Th-" Kisshu had to break off again as he threw up, but Ichigo understood that he was trying to thank her. She just wished she wasn't the cause of the extra sickness.

She noticed that the bucket was getting really full, and knew she had to empty it. However, Kisshu was throwing up so often, she wondered if taking it away was even safe. It wouldn't be easy to clean tatami mats off. Suddenly she noticed the large bowl that she had used for miso soup the other night. When Kisshu had finished, she said to him, "Kisshu, I have to empty that bucket, so if you feel sick and can't hold it, use this bowl."

Kisshu took the bowl from her, and she took the bucket to the bathroom. She hurried through emptying it, and raced back to her room, just as Kisshu started to turn green. She put the bucket back in place just in time.

Kisshu threw up again, then said, "I guess I didn't need the bowl…."

"Yeah, that's good," Ichigo said. "I'll go clean the bowl anyways." Kisshu handed it to her, and she went downstairs to the kitchen and washed it out thoroughly. Then she went back upstairs to her room. Kisshu was still awake, and he looked really sick.

"Can you try to sleep, Kisshu?" Ichigo asked.

"I'll just keep waking up," Kisshu said. "I can't seem to stop thr-" this was made evident as Kisshu threw up again.

"Would you like me to read to you?" Ichigo asked. "This book is good. It's called Wild Magic, by an American author called Tamora Pierce."

"Sure, that sounds great," Kisshu said.

So Ichigo began to read the book to him. She stopped every so often when Kisshu had to throw up again, but then continued. Kisshu asked several questions, and really seemed to be enjoying it. Ichigo got about halfway through the book before getting too tired to continue. "Kisshu, I have to go to sleep, okay?" she said. "I can read you more tomorrow."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "I'll try to go to sleep too."

Ichigo smiled at him and turned out the light, then climbed into her sleeping bag. She didn't exactly sleep well that night, since Kisshu kept getting sick, but at least she didn't have to go anywhere tomorrow.

The next day, she woke up and checked on Kisshu. It looked like he had finally fallen asleep, so she was quiet as she went and took her shower. When she got back, fully dressed, Kisshu was starting to wake up. "Morning, Koneko-chan," he yawned as he saw her.

"Morning, Kisshu," Ichigo said. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Well, my stomach doesn't hurt as much, but it's still pretty queasy," Kisshu replied. "I guess the food poisoning wore off."

"That's good to hear," Ichigo said. "You probably shouldn't eat anything for a while though. I don't think you'll be able to keep stuff down for a while longer. It's also good that you can speak without getting sick; before, you were getting sick so often you couldn't finish your sentences."

"Yeah…." Kisshu trailed off as he got sick again.

"Maybe I spoke too soon," Ichigo said, rubbing Kisshu's back until he stopped.

"Well, I definitely can't eat," Kisshu said. "It's a good thing I'm not actually hungry."

"That's true. Do you want to hear more of that book?" Ichigo asked.

"Sure," Kisshu said.

Ichigo picked up the book and opened it to the page they left off on, and began reading again. Like last night, she stopped sometimes as Kisshu threw up, but then started reading again.

After about another three hours, Kisshu said, "Can we stop? I'm tired."

"Sure, go to sleep," Ichigo said. "If you want, I'll read you more later."

"That sounds good…" Kisshu said as he fell asleep.

Ichigo smiled and went downstairs to get something to eat. She was pretty hungry, since she hadn't been downstairs in a while. She was afraid the smell of food would make Kisshu feel worse, so she ate downstairs. Suddenly her cell phone rang, and she was surprised to see it was Lettuce.

"Hi Lettuce, is something wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"I was just wondering how Kisshu-san was doing," Lettuce said. Something about her voice seemed a little uncertain, though."

"Kisshu's still pretty sick," Ichigo said. "But that's not really why you called, right?"

"I need advice," Lettuce admitted.

"What about?" Ichigo asked.

"I think I'm in love with Pai," Lettuce said softly.

"You should tell him, I think he likes you too," Ichigo said.

"You really think so?" Lettuce asked, worried.

"I always thought he had a thing for you. You were the only one talking about not fighting, and you're probably the reason he came up with a plan to stop our fighting," Ichigo said. "Don't let this chance pass you by."

"Okay, I'll try," Lettuce said. "Thanks, Ichigo-san."

"Sure, Lettuce," Ichigo said, and hung up. Then she went back upstairs to check on Kisshu. Unfortunately, he was awake and throwing up again. Still, it had been about two hours without him getting sick, so Ichigo saw this as slight improvement.

"I don't feel too good…" Kisshu trailed off as he threw up again.

"Well, I have some news that might cheer you up," Ichigo said. "Lettuce is in love with Pai."

"That's great!" Kisshu said, cheering up slightly. "Pai will be thrilled- or about as thrilled as Pai can get…"

Ichigo laughed. "Yeah, he doesn't get moved by much, huh?" she said.

Kisshu laughed too, and started to say, "Yeah, he's pretty emotionless-" unfortunately, laughing apparently wasn't too good for Kisshu. He turned green again, and turned over. He turned over a little too fast, and nearly fell, but managed to make it to the bucket before he threw up. Unfortunately, he was now on the floor, and when he tried to get up, he got really dizzy, and ended up throwing up again from that. Ichigo saw that he was having trouble, and came over as he stopped throwing up. She helped him to his feet, and helped him get back in bed.

"Next time, try to turn over a little more slowly," Ichigo told Kisshu. "Falling out of bed won't do you any good."

"Sorry," Kisshu said weakly. "The room looks like it's spinning. It might be a good idea for you to let go, I think I'm going to-" Ichigo quickly let go just in time, as Kisshu's dizziness caused him to throw up again.

"Close your eyes, it'll help the room stop spinning," Ichigo told Kisshu, who was still throwing up. Kisshu closed his eyes, and found that it did help. He slowly fell back to sleep after that.

The next morning, Ichigo got up and checked on Kisshu, like always. He was starting to wake up. "Morning, Ko-" Kisshu threw up, but finished more quickly than usual, and continued, "Morning, Koneko-chan."

"Morning," Ichigo said. "Still not feeling well, huh?"

"Not really," Kisshu said. "At least the room isn't spinning anymore."

"Good," Ichigo said. "I guess you shouldn't be getting up for a while."

"Yeah…" Kisshu said. "I wish I could do something other than lie here, though. I'm _bored._"

"Do you want me to read more of that book?" Ichigo asked.

"No…" Kisshu said. "I feel like I should be training, not lying here doing nothing. At this rate, I won't be in good shape when we have to fight."

"You have a point, but until you get better, you really shouldn't be out of bed," Ichigo commented. "Look at yesterday. Getting up made you so dizzy you threw up. I know it's hard being sick, but unless you rest, you're not going to get better, right?"

"Yeah, I-" Kisshu turned over and threw up again, then said, "I guess you're right."

"Do you think Pai would have some medicine that might help?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, stomach flu is a human disease, so I'm guessing not," Kisshu said. "We really only have medicine for Cyniclon diseases, and stuff like fevers. I don't have a fever anymore, so that wouldn't help us much. Besides, since I can't keep stuff down, I think medicine would be pointless, right?"

"You might be right," Ichigo said. "I just wish there was something we could do to help you heal faster."

"Me too, Koneko-chan, me t-" Kisshu threw up in the middle of the sentence, barely making it to the bucket this time.

"Maybe you shouldn't talk," Ichigo said with a worried look. "You seem to be throwing up in the middle of sentences a lot."

"M-" Kisshu threw up, and ended up just nodding in response to Ichigo.

"Go back to sleep, k?" Ichigo said, tucking Kisshu in after he was done. Kisshu nodded, and settled down to sleep.

Ichigo went to empty the bucket after Kisshu was asleep, and came back soon after, putting the bucket back in place. Then she sat down next to Kisshu and took out a book.

The next two days were the same. Ichigo finally told Kisshu to stop talking all together, after he nearly threw up on the floor while talking. She noticed that he threw up less when he wasn't talking, and took that as a good sign. He didn't have a fever or any other symptoms of flu, which puzzled her. He was just throwing up a lot. The weakness was probably from being unable to eat or drink anything except water, which he still had trouble keeping down.

Ichigo was getting very worried by the third day after she told Kisshu to stop talking. He still was throwing up several times, especially at night. Finally she called Pai and explained the problem. "Is it possible he has that Cyniclon illness again, and not the stomach flu?" she asked. "He doesn't have any other symptoms of stomach flu except throwing up."

"I'll come take a look," Pai said. "You may be right, so I'll bring the medicine too."

Pai arrived about ten minutes later, and examined Kisshu. Then he said, "Looks like you were right. He does have that disease. Let's wake him up, and I'll give him some medicine."

As it turned out, they didn't have to wake up Kisshu, since he woke up just as Pai said the word 'medicine'. Unfortunately, he also started throwing up as soon as he woke up. Pai waited until he stopped, then said, "Kisshu, it looks like you've got that throwing up disease you had before. I'm going to give you some medicine, okay?"

Kisshu nodded, and Pai gave him the medicine. He went back to sleep soon after. Ichigo and Pai left the room to talk.

"Well, you know what to do," Pai said.

"Pai, it might be better if you stayed here tonight," Ichigo said. "You can have the guest room. If anything else happens, you'll be right here."

"Fine," Pai said. "I have to tell Taruto, so I'll be right back." Ichigo nodded and Pai teleported off. He came back soon after, and said, "Okay, I brought some of my things, so do you want to show me your guest room?"

"Sure," Ichigo said. She showed Pai the room, then went back to hers. She decided that she could probably empty the bucket now, since Kisshu had taken the medicine. She did so, then went back to her room with it, just in case. Then she went to sleep for the night, since Kisshu wouldn't be awake till tomorrow.

**I know this wasn't the best chapter ending, but I hope you'll all review. Next chapter will try to be more exciting. I thought it would be fun to add Ichigo reading to Kisshu, and that's one of my favorite books. So sorry about this chapter, hopefully next chapter will be better.**


	14. Pai's Discovery

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 14:**

**Pai's Discovery**

When Ichigo woke up the next morning, Kisshu was still asleep. She went to see Pai, but found that he was gone. Deciding he went back to the ship, she shrugged and went to make herself breakfast. She made some toast, and when she was done eating, she went back upstairs. She found Kisshu awake, and asked, "Are you feeling any better?"

To her surprise and worry, Kisshu replied, "Not really, my stomach is still queasy. I don't think the medicine helped much this time."

"That doesn't sound good," Ichigo said. "Last time it worked; I wonder why it didn't this time?"

"I don't know," Kisshu said. Suddenly he turned over and threw up again.

While he was still throwing up, Pai teleported in looking grim. "What's wrong?" Ichigo asked, seeing his grim face.

"I went back to the ship, and did some research on the sickness Kisshu has," Pai replied. "Normally, if you take the medicine, you get better soon after you wake up. Kisshu, obviously, is not better."

"What do you think the problem is?" Ichigo asked.

"I think something- or someone- is causing this continuing illness," Pai said grimly. "And the only one I can think of who would do something like that is Deep Blue."

"You mean that the reason I'm sick is because Deep Blue is causing this?" Kisshu asked.

"Hai. I think that unless we do something about Deep Blue, you're not going to recover," Pai said. "The medicine obviously didn't do you any good, and that stuff is really strong. If it doesn't help, there's nothing else I can really do."

Kisshu groaned.

"Why would Deep Blue target Kisshu in particular?" Ichigo asked, as Kisshu got sick again.

"Well, the reason Kisshu was sent to Earth first is because he is the best warrior on our planet. Since we've basically decided to betray Deep Blue, he probably wants to keep the strongest one of us from fighting. Kisshu has the best chance of defeating Deep Blue, and Deep Blue knows that. With Kisshu too weak to fight, Deep Blue would have a better chance of defeating us," Pai explained.

"I guess the rest of us will just have to do our best, then," Ichigo said. "If Kisshu can't fight, then we'll have to do it without him."

"But I need to be there," Kisshu said.

"The rest of us will handle it fine," Ichigo said firmly. "You can't fight in that condition, it'll just make things worse."

Kisshu started to argue again, but ended up throwing up before he could say anything.

Noticing the bucket was full again, Ichigo said, "Kisshu, can you hold it till I've emptied that bucket?"

Kisshu said, "I'll try." Ichigo nodded and left. She emptied the bucket quickly and ran back. Kisshu had his hand over his mouth, and as soon as Ichigo set the bucket down, he threw up. "That was close," Kisshu said weakly when he was done.

"Sorry," Ichigo said.

"That's okay, you got back in time," Kisshu said. Suddenly he started coughing, and leaned over the side of the bed quickly. Ichigo came over and patted him on the back. He finally stopped coughing, only to start throwing up again. This time it looked like he was trying to fight it back, but he was failing. Finally he stopped, and collapsed back on the bed, his breathing harsh.

"This isn't looking too good," Pai said. Ichigo nodded as Kisshu swallowed hard.

Suddenly Kisshu wrapped his arms around his stomach, crying out in pain. "This HURTS!" he cried out.

"Kisshu, what's going on?" Ichigo asked.

"I was queasy, but now my stomach feels like it's on fire!" Kisshu said. He was gasping for air.

Pai came over and placed his hand on Kisshu's stomach. His hand began to glow, but nothing seemed to be happening. Finally he took his hand off and said, "There's nothing I can do! He's been throwing up so much that it's having an effect on his body. If we don't figure out what to do soon, he could…"

"Die?" Ichigo whispered, shocked. Pai nodded slightly.

Kisshu still had his arms wrapped around his stomach. The pain just kept getting worse, and Kisshu didn't know how much longer he could go on like this. He didn't even notice he had stopped throwing up; the only thing he could focus on was the pain in his stomach. In the back of his mind, he noticed that his throat hurt, but not nearly as much as his stomach did. Suddenly the room filled with soft pink light, and he felt hands on his stomach.

Ichigo was scared now. Kisshu might die? Suddenly she was enveloped in a soft pink light, as she transformed.

Pai watched in awe as the pink light enveloped Ichigo. However, when the light faded, she didn't have her usual Strawberry Bell. In fact, she didn't have a weapon at all. Instead, her hands were glowing pink.

Ichigo noticed her hands were glowing, and suddenly words came to mind. She walked over to Kisshu and put her hands on his stomach. Then she cried, "Ribon… Healing Flash!" The pink light flashed, and Pai shielded his eyes.

Ichigo waited until the flash of light faded, then gently took her hands off Kisshu's stomach. She was relieved to see him slowly relax, and then fall asleep.

"Looks like you have a new power," Pai said, walking over to Ichigo. She was looking a bit pale, and Pai said, "It looks like it took a lot out of you though. You should get some rest, I'll watch Kisshu."

"Okay…." Ichigo climbed into her sleeping bag and was soon fast asleep. Pai sat down in the chair next to Kisshu's bed and waited.

**Well, Ichigo has a new power, and Kisshu should be feeling better soon. Please review and tell me what you think! *gives reviewers the imacutelittleneko face***


	15. Getting Better

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 15:**

**Getting Better**

Pai was sitting next to Kisshu's bed, watching him sleep. He was looking better already. Ichigo was just tired, so she would be fine when she woke up. Pai was amazed that Ichigo had come up with a new power like that. He guessed it was because he had told her if they didn't do something, Kisshu could die. However, if the new power took a lot out of her, she probably would be better off not using it too much.

Suddenly Pai noticed that Kisshu was starting to wake up. Kisshu opened his golden eyes sleepily. He seemed a bit startled to see Pai sitting there. "Where's Ichigo?" he asked Pai.

"She's asleep," Pai replied. "Healing you took a lot out of her. She'll be fine when she wakes up. How are you feeling?"

"A lot better," Kisshu replied. "My stomach doesn't hurt anymore, and I don't feel queasy anymore either. I still feel a little weak though."

"That's good news," Pai said with relief. "You should take it easy for a while though, if you're still feeling weak. Don't push yourself yet, okay?"

"Sure…" Kisshu said. "When do you think I can start training for the upcoming battle?"

"I think it's going to be a while," Pai said reluctantly. "You've been sick for so long that pushing yourself to train could be really bad for you."

"I just hate feeling helpless," Kisshu said.

"I know. But you'll heal faster if you rest, so just take it easy," Pai said.

"Do you think I could get up for a while?" Kisshu asked. "I'm tired of just lying here."

"I'm not sure that's really a good idea," Pai said doubtfully. "You said you were still feeling weak, remember?"

"Yeah, but not that weak," Kisshu said. "Please?" He gave Pai the 'kitty face'.

Pai finally caved in, and said, "If you can sit up without any trouble, I suppose it's okay to get up for a while. But if you feel tired or dizzy, it's back to bed, got it?"

"Yep!" Kisshu said happily. He slowly sat up, and it looked like he was doing fine. Then he pushed back the covers, and slowly put his feet on the floor. Finally, he stood up. Pai noticed he was a little shaky, and came over to steady him.

"I'm fine," Kisshu told him. He walked a few steps, but then tripped over Ichigo, waking her up.

"Kisshu! What happened?" she asked, worried.

"I tripped," Kisshu said sheepishly.

"Does that mean you can get up now?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, thanks for healing me," Kisshu said. "I'm feeling a lot better." He slowly stood back up, then pulled Ichigo up too.

Ichigo was really glad that Kisshu was feeling better. It looked like he was feeling less weak than the last time he started to recover from being sick, too. "I'm glad to see you feeling better," she told Kisshu, hugging him.

Kisshu hugged back happily. "Me too, Koneko-chan," he said.

"I'll leave you two alone," Pai said. "I'm going to go tell Taruto and the other Mews that Kisshu's getting better."

"Thanks, Pai," Ichigo said. Pai nodded and teleported off.

"So what do you want to do now, Kitten?" Kisshu asked.

"If you're feeling up for it, I think you should take a bath," Ichigo said.

"Planning on joining me?" Kisshu asked with a smirk.

"You're feeling better, alright," Ichigo said dryly. "But I might as well, since I don't want anything to happen to you."

"YAY!" Kisshu shouted.

Ichigo rolled her eyes. "Come on," she said, dragging Kisshu to the bathroom.

"I don't have any clean clothes, you know," Kisshu said.

"You can have some of my dad's," Ichigo said. "I'll go get some for you, and I'll get my clothes too."

"Thanks, Kitten," Kisshu said.

"Do you mind filling the tub?" Ichigo asked. "I'll be right back."

"Sure, I'll fill it," Kisshu said. Ichigo smiled and left the bathroom to get clothes.

When she got back, she saw that Kisshu was already taking his clothes off. She squeaked and covered her eyes.

"Come on, I'm not that bad-looking, am I?" Kisshu asked.

"I'm just not used to seeing naked guys," Ichigo said, not looking up.

"I'll get in the tub then," Kisshu said.

Ichigo nodded, and said, "I'm going to get undressed. NO peeking."

"Awww…" Kisshu said. Ichigo glared at him, so he said, "Fine…." while figuring out how to peek without her noticing.

Suddenly Ichigo got in the tub, and Kisshu realized he had missed her changing while he was thinking. _Aww, man… _he thought.

His disappointment was cut off by Ichigo asking, "Aren't you going to wash your hair?"

"Uh… yeah, why?" Kisshu asked.

"Because your hairties are still in," Ichigo said.

"Oh," Kisshu said, and took them out. "Do you have any shampoo?" he asked.

"Plenty," Ichigo replied, pointing behind him.

Kisshu picked a bottle at random, and dunked his head under the water. Ichigo got her strawberry shampoo, and did the same.

Suddenly Kisshu got an idea, and splashed Ichigo.

"Hey!" she squeaked, and splashed back. Soon they were having a full-fledged water fight. Eventually they stopped, and Ichigo said, "Let's get out, the water's going cold. No peeking."

Kisshu pouted at her, but she ignored him. As soon as she saw Kisshu close his eyes, she quickly got out and wrapped herself in a towel. Then she grabbed her clothes and went back to her room, leaving Kisshu to get dressed alone.

Kisshu sighed regretfully and grabbed a towel, drying off and then getting dressed in the green T-shirt and black jeans Ichigo had gotten from her dad's closet. Then he started to walk back to Ichigo's room. He was getting tired again. Luckily Ichigo's room wasn't too far away, and he got there quickly. He knocked on the door, and heard Ichigo say, "Kisshu?"

"Yeah," Kisshu said. "I'm tired. Can I come in?"

"Hang on," Ichigo said.

Kisshu heard her start to walk to the door, but started feeling weak again, and by the time Ichigo opened the door, he was sitting on the floor.

"Kisshu! Are you okay?" Ichigo asked, worried.

"I think so, but I think I overdid it today," Kisshu replied.

Ichigo helped him up and back to the bed, where she tucked him in. "Get some sleep," she said. "I'll be here if you need anything, okay?"

Kisshu nodded before falling asleep.

The next morning Kisshu woke up feeling a lot stronger. He still wasn't really up for flying or teleporting, but he was able to sit up immediately, and this time he didn't need help getting out of bed. He noticed that Ichigo was still asleep, and decided to let her sleep a while longer. Then he got an idea. Since Ichigo was asleep, he could look at her stuff! (I'm sure everyone knows what I mean by 'stuff'). With one of his trademark smirks, he went over to her dresser, and opened one drawer in particular. Then he started going through it (of course).

It was about then that Ichigo began to wake up. When she sat up, she immediately turned bright red. "KISSHU!" she shrieked. She was actually rather pleased when he jumped about five feet in the air. Unfortunately, since he wasn't strong enough to fly yet, he crashed back to the ground, lost his balance, and landed on top of Ichigo.

"Morning, Koneko-chan,"Kisshu smirked.

"What were you doing in my drawers?" Ichigo snapped.

"What did it LOOK like I was doing?" Kisshu asked, still smirking.

"Don't DO that!" Ichigo shouted.

"Oww…" Kisshu said; her shout hurt his ears. Cyniclons can hear way better than humans.

"Sorry!" Ichigo said, as Kisshu rubbed his ears, getting off Ichigo.

"Just don't shout, okay?" Kisshu said. "My ears are about as sensitive to sound as your cat ears are."

"Okay. Sorry about that," Ichigo said. "But please don't go through my dresser without permission."

"You ruin all my fun," Kisshu complained.

"Are you feeling any better today?" Ichigo asked, completely ignoring what Kisshu had just said.

"Yeah, but I still can't fly or teleport," Kisshu said. "I have no problem walking, though. Can I have something to eat soon?"

"Do you think your stomach can handle it?" Ichigo asked, worried. "I don't want you to get sick again."

"I think I'll be fine," Kisshu said. "My stomach feels fine right now."

"Okay, but nothing too heavy," Ichigo said. "I'll get some ramen together."

"Fine," Kisshu said. "Can I have something to drink too?"

"I have some cranberry juice," Ichigo said. "Is that okay? I don't want you drinking anything acidic like orange juice right away."

"Yeah, cranberry juice is fine," Kisshu said. "No milk?"

"Dairy products can upset your stomach," Ichigo said. "I don't want to take unnecessary chances."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "Let's go downstairs."

Ichigo nodded, and the two of them went downstairs. Ichigo told Kisshu to take it slow, but he was pretty steady by this point, so she didn't really need to worry. They went to the kitchen, and Ichigo told Kisshu to sit at the table while she got what they needed. Then she cooked some ramen and got out the cranberry juice. She poured two glasses, and set one in front of Kisshu. Then she gave him the ramen and a pair of chopsticks. "Don't eat too fast," she warned him. Kisshu nodded and started eating.

A while later they were both done, and Ichigo decided they should go back upstairs. Kisshu wanted to go somewhere, but Ichigo convinced him that if he couldn't fly or teleport, he shouldn't be going anywhere yet. She didn't want him to overdo it, like last night.

When they got upstairs, however, Pai was in Ichigo's room waiting for them.

"Hey Pai, what's up?" Kisshu said.

"Kisshu, are you back to full strength yet?" Pai asked.

Kisshu looked down. "I still can't fly or teleport," he said.

"Is something wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"I've discovered a path to Deep Blue's dimension," Pai said. "He doesn't appear to be making a move yet, but the battle will be soon. We need you at full strength before he appears, Kisshu."

"When do you think he'll appear?" Ichigo asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, but it's probably going to be within the next two weeks," Pai said.

"Well, I think I'll be back to full strength in the next two days," Kisshu said. "We can do this."

**Boring chapter, I know. I think I'm better at fluff than action. I'll do my best to write some action soon. Till then, REVIEW!**


	16. A New Love

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 16:**

**A New Love**

About two days later, Kisshu was back to full strength. He immediately started training again, as did the Mews, Pai and Taruto. They all knew that Deep Blue would appear soon, and they were preparing for that.

About a week after Kisshu recovered, Pai called everyone together and said, "I think we should make the first move. If we wait, we'll be dealing with an extremely powerful being, and judging by what happened last time Kisshu got sick, he could get sick again if we wait too long."

"Why would waiting too long cause Kisshu to get sick?" Mint asked.

"I found out that the last time Kisshu got sick, Deep Blue was causing it," Pai explained. "I believe because Kisshu is the strongest of us, Deep Blue wants him out of the way. That would also mean someone would have to stay with him, and then we'd lose two fighters."

"I get it," Lettuce said. "So we have to attack before Deep Blue has a chance to make Kisshu sick again."

"Precisely," Pai said. "I have found the path to Deep Blue's dimension, so we can use that to get to him."

"And when are we doing this?" Ichigo asked.

"Tomorrow," Pai said. "Go get some sleep, you'll need it."

Everyone's jaws dropped. Pai noticed and said, "Haven't you all been training? We're all as ready as we're going to get. Dismissed!"

Everyone else got over their shock and nodded, then left. They had had the meeting in the basement of Café Mew Mew, which meant Ryou and Keiichiro had been there.

Mint looked back at Ryou as she left, then stopped. She secretly had a crush on him, and she noticed that he was steaming right now. Keiichiro was trying to calm him down as Mint came over hesitantly.

"What do you want, Mint?" Ryou asked.

"RYOU!" Keiichiro said. "Just because you're upset doesn't mean you can take it out on others."

"I wanted to ask what's wrong," Mint said. "You seem pretty upset."

"I hate those aliens. I used to be the one who gave orders to everyone, and now everyone ignores me and listens to Pai," Ryou said.

"It's not easy being ignored," Mint agreed. "But is this only about Pai taking over, or does it have something to do with Ichigo?"

Ryou looked somewhat surprised. "How did you guess that?"

"I knew you had a crush on Ichigo," Mint said. "It must be hard to see her with Kisshu, right?"

"Yeah," Ryou said. "That damn alien's taken Ichigo away from me before I even had a chance to tell her how I felt."

"Well, to be honest, you never had a chance anyways," Mint said. "She talks to me a lot; we are good friends. She didn't like you from the start, and you kept treating her like she meant nothing to you. You also overworked her at the Café, and never raised her pay. I'm actually kind of surprised she didn't quit before we made a deal with the aliens. It got to the point where I didn't like hearing about you from her, since she went on a rant about how much she hated you everytime I asked her how she was doing, what with Café work and fighting. I think she hates you more than she ever hated Kisshu, because of the way you treated her from day one."

"What do the other Mews think of me?" asked Ryou, sounding afraid of the answer.

"Pudding thinks you're funny, and doesn't really care one way or the other," Mint said. "Lettuce used to have a small crush on you, but eventually, she fell in love with Pai instead. You'd have to ask Zakuro what she thinks of you, since I don't have a clue."

"What about you?" Ryou asked.

"I…" Mint trailed off, blushing. Then she took a deep breath and said, "I love you, Ryou."

**I thought it might be nice to establish the fact that Mint loves Ryou. I might put some KeiichiroXZakuro fluff in too, but I'm not sure yet. This chapter came to be because I'm kinda braindead. If you have an idea for what should happen with Deep Blue and the upcoming battle, please PM me, since I am not going to update till tomorrow. REVIEW!**


	17. The Path to Evil

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 17:**

**The Path to Evil**

The next day, everyone got ready to confront Deep Blue. The Mews transformed, and the Cyniclons teleported them into Deep Blue's dimension. To the surprise of the Cyniclons, it looked different. Instead of the blue mist, they were in a hallway. At the end of the hallway were stairs.

The Mews and Cyniclons looked at each other, then started walking. They reached the stairs and climbed them. They were surprised to end up in what looked like a throne room. The room was decorated in red and blue, and there was a large, over-decorated throne in the center of the far wall.

The Mews and Cyniclons tensed, because someone was sitting in the throne. It was a male Cyniclon, with calf-length black hair and ice blue eyes. He was also wearing a blue outfit similar to that of the Blue Knight's.

"Deep Blue," Kisshu snarled.

The others watched as Deep Blue stood up and a sword materialized in his hand. Then they all got into battle positions, the Mews and Cyniclons all summoning their weapons. Before they could attack, however, Deep Blue looked at Kisshu and said, "So, you recovered. What a pity, I was hoping the illness would kill you."

"So you WERE the one who caused me to get so sick," Kisshu snarled. "Well, you didn't manage to kill me, and now you're through!"

Deep Blue smirked and raised his sword, then charged at Kisshu, who dodged and started fighting back with his Dragon Swords. While Deep Blue was distracted, Kisshu sent a telepathic message to Pai, saying, "_Tell Ichigo to aim an attack at Deep Blue from behind."_

Pai whispered something to Ichigo, and she nodded slightly, then while Kisshu launched an attack at Deep Blue from the front, Ichigo snuck up behind him and shouted, "Ribbon…. Strawberry Surprise!" Deep Blue tried to dodge, but Kisshu had his sword trapped, and Ichigo's attack hit him in the back. While Deep Blue tried to recover from that, Kisshu conjured up an energy ball, and sent it at Deep Blue. Since Deep Blue was standing right in front of Kisshu, it did some damage.

Encouraged by this, the other Mews performed their attacks, as Kisshu moved back. Before Deep Blue could teleport, Zakuro wrapped her whip around his wrist, dragging him back- just in time to get hit by Lettuce's Lettuce Rush. Pai had combined a lightning attack with the Lettuce Rush, so Deep Blue got electrocuted.

To everyone's shock, Deep Blue was still standing! Then he lifted a finger, pointing it at Kisshu. His finger started to glow yellow, and suddenly a little spark, moving faster than any of them thought possible, hit Kisshu in the chest.

"KISSHU!" Ichigo screamed. Then everyone noticed that Kisshu wasn't falling over, which is what would have happened if he was dead.

Kisshu looked up, and said, "What was that? I didn't feel anything. Was that a joke?"

Deep Blue smirked and said, "No, it wasn't."

"Then what-" Pai started.

"That's just to get him out of the way until I kill the rest of you," Deep Blue said.

Suddenly Kisshu started to look a bit unsteady on his feet. Ichigo ran over to him. "Kisshu, what's wrong?" she asked worriedly.

"My stomach again….." Kisshu said. He was turning green. He teleported away from the others and threw up.

"This is bad…." Ichigo said. Suddenly she heard a voice in her head. It sounded like Pai, but he was talking to Taruto. _Telepathy? _she thought. She decided to try it.

Telepathically, she said, _Taruto? _Taruto looked up at her. She held a finger to her lips, then said telepathically, _Use your weapons to tie up Deep Blue, and the rest of us can combine our attacks to destroy him._ Taruto's eyes lit up, and he nodded slightly. Then, while Deep Blue was still laughing at Kisshu's predicament, Taruto threw his click-clack weapon, and it completely immobilized Deep Blue.

Ichigo shouted, "Let's combine our attacks, minna!"

The others immediately got the message, and before Deep Blue could break free, they shouted their attacks together.

"Ribon… Strawberry Surprise!"

"Ribon…. Minto Echo!"

"Ribon…. Lettuce Rush!"

"Ribon…. Puddingring Inferno!"

"Ribon…. Zakuro Spear!"

And from Pai: "_KUU RAI SEN PUU JIN!" _

The attacks combined into a ball of energy that sped toward Deep Blue. Suddenly Ichigo remembered that Kisshu was still sick, and shouted, "Guys, we've gotta go get Kisshu before it's too late!"

The others nodded, and everyone ran to Kisshu, forming a circle around him. The Mews put up a shield just in time, as the ball of energy hit Deep Blue dead on.

There was a massive explosion, and when the smoke cleared, they saw Deep Blue's sword lying in a pile of ashes.

"YATTA!" they all shouted. Deep Blue was gone!

"Wow, we did it," Ichigo said.

"Taruto, how did you come up with the idea to tie up Deep Blue?" Pai asked. "It looked like you and Ichigo planned it."

"We did," Taruto replied. "It was weird. Suddenly I could hear Ichigo's voice in my head, and she told me to tie up Deep Blue while the rest of you attacked."

"Since when can you use telepathy, Ichigo?" Pai asked.

"Uh…. Since about five minutes ago," Ichigo said. Suddenly she turned to Kisshu, who was still lying on the ground. "Kisshu? Wake up!" she said. She shook his shoulder, and he slowly opened his golden eyes.

"Is Deep Blue dead?" Kisshu asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "How are you feeling?"

"Not great; I guess whatever that spark was hasn't worn off yet," Kisshu said.

"Since Deep Blue implanted it in your body, it's going to be like any other sickness; you have to get over it on your own," Pai said. "But with Deep Blue dead, it shouldn't be as bad this time."

"That's good news," Ichigo said. "But we should get you back to my house, Kisshu. You don't look so good."

"I don't feel so good either," Kisshu admitted. "I think I can still teleport though."

"Then teleport back to Ichigo's house," Pai said. "We'll be there soon, after we tell Ryou and Keiichiro about our victory."

"Okay," Kisshu said. He was starting to look sick again, so Ichigo said, "The bucket's still in my room, so put it back next to the bed. I'll be there soon."

Kisshu nodded, and teleported off.

Pai and Taruto teleported the rest of the Mews to Café Mew Mew, and they landed in the basement. Ryou and Keiichiro looked up, and Pai said, "We won. Deep Blue is dead."

"That's great," Keiichiro said. "Hey, where's Kisshu?"

"Deep Blue got him sick again, so he's at Ichigo's house," Pai said.

"Yeah, and I better get over there," Ichigo said.

"I'll teleport you," Pai said. "Taruto, you stay here. You're the best person to explain Ichigo's new ability anyways." Before anyone else could say anything, Pai teleported away with Ichigo.

They ended up in her room. Kisshu wasn't there, however. "Where is he?" Ichigo asked, worried.

Then they heard a noise in the bathroom, and ran over. Ichigo knocked on the door and said, "Kisshu?"

"Yeah?" Kisshu said.

"Why aren't you in my room?" Ichigo asked.

"Well, I teleported to the bathroom, but teleporting made me feel even more sick, and I didn't quite make it to the toilet," Kisshu admitted. "I thought I'd clean up, so you wouldn't have to."

"Thanks, Kisshu," Ichigo said. "Are you about done? You should get some rest."

"Yeah, I'm done, but I realized I didn't have any clean clothes. Do you have some?" Kisshu asked.

"Sure, I'll go get you some pajamas," Ichigo said. She went to her room, and got out a pair of black pants and a black shirt. Then she went back to the bathroom, and handed them in. A few minutes later, Kisshu opened the door, and Ichigo helped him back to her bed. She put the bucket back in place, and Kisshu settled down to sleep for a while. Ichigo was about to sit down next to him, but she saw Pai beckoning to her, and went out to the hallway.

"Taruto and I have to bring the Mew Aqua to our home planet soon," Pai said. "I was wondering if Kisshu could stay here while we do that."

"Of course, but why?" Ichigo asked.

"Kisshu was the leader of this mission. Since we killed Deep Blue, he'll be blamed if the other Cyniclons get angry with us," Pai explained. "I don't want him to get killed. Taruto and I have a better chance of getting away with this if we go without Kisshu. Since he's sick anyways, it would be bad to have him come with us if the others get angry. We may have to come back to Earth after healing the planet; it's entirely possible we'll get exiled. If that happens, can Taruto and I stay here?"

"Sure, I've got two extra bedrooms," Ichigo said. "Kisshu's already staying here, I wouldn't turn you away."

"Thank you, Ichigo," Pai said. "I'm going to ask Ryou for the Mew Aqua, and then Taruto and I will go back to our planet. Even if we don't get exiled, we'll always come back at least to visit."

"Can Kisshu just stay here?" Ichigo asked. "I have no one else who will live here, and I love him."

"It might be better that way, and I'm sure that he won't object," Pai said. "I'll see you soon, Ichigo."

"Okay, Pai," Ichigo said, smiling. And this time, Pai smiled back.

**This isn't over, so keep reviewing! I love reviews! You guys are the best! 83 reviews!**


	18. Downtime

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 18:**

**Downtime**

Pai left, and Ichigo went back to her room. Kisshu was asleep, but he woke up as she came closer. "Oh, did I wake you up?" she asked.

"N-" Kisshu threw up, and when he was finished, he said, "No, I just felt sick, that's all."

Ichigo sighed and said, "Pai said he and Taruto are going back with the Mew Aqua, and they should be back in the next week or so. Pai said you should take it easy and they'll do the hard stuff. He said you might be in danger if you went, since you were in charge of the mission, and you decided to betray Deep Blue."

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Kisshu asked. "I don't want either of them to get hurt."

"I'm sure they'll be fine," Ichigo said. "They're both strong, and I told them they could live here if things didn't work out. They're just bringing the Mew Aqua back and then coming back here."

"So we all can live with you?" Kisshu asked.

"Yes, and I asked Pai if he was okay with you staying here permanently," Ichigo said.

"You want me to stay…. Permanently?" Kisshu asked.

"Yeah, if you don't mind," Ichigo said.

"I'd love that, Koneko-chan!" Kisshu said happily. Suddenly his smile faded and he got sick again. "Sorry you've had to take care of me so much," he said when he was done.

"I don't mind at all," Ichigo said. "I love you, whether you're sick or not. That won't change."

"Thanks…." Kisshu trailed off as he threw up, then said, "I'm kind of tired…."

"Then go to sleep," Ichigo said. "I'll always be here for you."

Kisshu smiled and went to sleep. It was late afternoon when he woke up again. "I'm thirsty," he said, after Ichigo asked how he was feeling.

"Would you like to try ginger ale?" Ichigo asked. "It's supposed to be good for upset stomachs."

"Okay," Kisshu said. Ichigo went downstairs and got a glass of ginger ale, then brought it to her room, and helped Kisshu drink some.

"It's really bubbly," Kisshu said.

"The bubbles are supposed to help, as well as the fact that ginger is good for digestion," Ichigo said.

"It does taste good though," Kisshu said. "Maybe it'll help." He drank more, still liking the taste.

"Kisshu, wait. You're drinking that too fast," Ichigo said.

Unfortunately, she was too late. Kisshu was already finished. "Uggh…. I don't feel good…" Kisshu said as he started to throw up again. He almost missed the bucket, but got there just in time, much to Ichigo's relief. She rubbed his back until they both thought he was done, but as it turned out, he was still sick. Just as he started to turn, he clapped his hand over his mouth and swallowed hard. Then he turned over and threw up again.

"No more ginger ale for you," Ichigo said when he was done. "And don't drink so fast."

"I see what you mean," Kisshu said. "Sorry."

"That's okay, but try to be more careful," Ichigo said.

Kisshu nodded, then tried to go back to sleep. He finally managed it, and also got through the night without getting sick for once.

The next morning, however, he woke up and immediately got sick. Ichigo woke up and came over to rub his back.

"Sorry I woke you up, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said when he stopped.

"It's not your fault you're sick," Ichigo reassured him.

"Hey, Pai said something about you having a new power," Kisshu said. "What is it?"

"I can hear and speak telepathically for some reason," Ichigo replied.

"That's cool!" Kisshu said. "Do you think you can do it with me?"

"I'll try," Ichigo said. Then she said telepathically, _Kisshu?_

She heard his voice in her head as he said, _Yep?_

_This is cool! _she thought.

_Now we can talk privately, _Kisshu said.

_Maybe this kind of talking will keep you from getting sick so much, _Ichigo said.

_That would be nice, _Kisshu said.

Ichigo noticed the bucket was full, and said aloud, "I have to empty the bucket, can you hold it?"

_I think so… _Kisshu said.

_Call me if you get sick, _Ichigo said. She left the room with the bucket. Ichigo had just finished when she heard Kisshu say telepathically, _Ichigo! I'm about to throw up. Hurry! _Ichigo ran. Kisshu had a hand over his mouth when she got back, and she quickly put the bucket in place as Kisshu was unable to hold it anymore. Luckily he made it to the bucket.

Ichigo sighed. _Sorry, _she said.

_I really don't feel well… _Kisshu said, as he threw up again.

_I noticed. You've been sick so often lately it's hard to believe you're not skin and bones, _Ichigo said.

_I wish I could eat… Hey, do you think that healing thing you did before might help? _Kisshu asked.

_Maybe… But if it doesn't, you'll be on your own till I get my strength back. That technique takes a lot out of me, _Ichigo said. _I'm willing to try, though._

_That'd be nice… _Kisshu threw up as he said this.

_Okay. _Ichigo transformed, and like before, her hands were glowing. This time she put one on Kisshu's chest and the other on his stomach. "Ribon…. Healing Flash!" she cried. Pink light flashed, and she fell to her knees.

When the light cleared, Kisshu found that he didn't feel sick anymore. Right as Ichigo had started to put her hands on him, he had thought he was about to throw up again. Now he felt fine. He noticed Ichigo was on the floor, though, and became worried. He sat up and said, "Ichigo, are you okay?"

"Yeah, just tired. I'll be fine if I get some sleep," Ichigo said.

"Do you want the bed?" Kisshu asked.

"Not until those sheets and pillowcases have been washed," Ichigo said. "I'm fine with my sleeping bag."

"Okay…" Kisshu said as Ichigo climbed into her sleeping bag and fell asleep.

Like the last time Ichigo healed him, Kisshu still felt a bit weak. He remembered that he had tried to do too much the last time, and decided to just go back to sleep instead of getting up. Besides, it wasn't as much fun without Ichigo.

The next day they both woke up feeling fine. Kisshu got up with no trouble, so Ichigo said it was okay to go downstairs. They both had toast for breakfast, and then they both took showers (separately this time^^). Ichigo got Kisshu a pair of blue jeans and a green t-shirt, and then went to do the laundry. Once everything was in the dryer, she said, "Do you want to go to Café Mew Mew? I think we should go see the others."

"Sure," Kisshu said. "We can tell them about your new ability."

"Let's go then," Ichigo said.

**Crappy chapter, I know. Please don't hate me for getting Kisshu sick again. Ichigo's new healing power and telepathy are really cool though, don't you think?**


	19. Ryou's Mistake

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 19:**

**Ryou's Mistake**

Ichigo and Kisshu walked to Café Mew Mew. Kisshu wanted to teleport, but Ichigo told him that he probably shouldn't just yet. When they got there, the other Mews were all there.

"Where's Ryou and Keiichiro?" Ichigo asked.

"They're in the basement," Lettuce said. "How are you feeling, Kisshu-san?"

"I'm feeling a lot better, thanks to Ichigo's new ability," Kisshu said.

"New ability?" Mint asked.

"Actually she has two," Kisshu said. "Ichigo, you want to tell them?"

"I can heal and use telepathy," Ichigo said.

"Wow, telepathy?" Pudding said. "Cool, na no da!"

"When did this happen?" Zakuro asked.

"Well, I learned how to heal a week and a half ago, when Kisshu's illness got worse, but the using telepathy thing only happened during the battle with Deep Blue," Ichigo explained. "All of a sudden I could hear Pai talking to Taruto in my head, and I decided to try it. So since I had a plan, I explained it to Taruto telepathically, and he heard me. That's why Taruto tied up Deep Blue; I told him to. And Kisshu and I can communicate too."

"That's totally freaky," Mint said.

"You're starting to sound like Ryou," Ichigo said. "Do you WANT to sound like that jerk?"

"He's not a jerk," Mint said defensively.

Ichigo noticed her tone and said, "You like him, don't you?"

Mint turned red and said, "So what if I do?"

"Better you than me," Ichigo said. "I hate that guy."

Suddenly they heard from the doorway to the basement, "WHY do you hate me?"

Ichigo turned red and said angrily, "I would think it would be obvious, but apparently not. You treated me like dirt from day one, you overworked me more than anyone else, you NEVER raised my paycheck, I was the ONLY one who got in trouble, EVER. You laughed at me, you yelled at me, and if I stopped working for one MINUTE, you started yelling at me again. Mint never had to work, while you made me do EVERYTHING, and never helped out ONCE. I know you were lying when you said you loved me, too. If you really loved me, you wouldn't have treated me like that. I don't understand why you thought I would ever go out with you. You'd only break my heart, like that treehugger did. I'm SO glad that I have Kisshu, because he's ten times what you'll ever be, and he loves me. THAT'S why I hate you. Is that enough reasons?"

"Ichigo…." Ryou said, coming forward, but stopping when he saw Ichigo's angry face.

"WHAT?" Ichigo asked, still angry.

"You're fired," Ryou said. The others all gasped.

"Fine. I know if I continued here, I'd die from overexertion anyways," Ichigo said. "Good luck with the others, loser."

"Ichigo, wait!" Mint said.

"Why?" Ichigo asked. "You heard him, I'm fired. There's no point in me being here anymore."

"I'm not working if you're not here," Mint said.

Lettuce said timidly, "Shirogane, you've kind of gone too far this time. If Ichigo's going, so am I."

"I'm not working without my oneechans, na no da," Pudding said.

"Well, I'm not working alone," Zakuro said. "The customers are scared of me anyways."

Ichigo smiled. "Let's go then," she said. "Kisshu, are you coming too?"

"Sure, you know I'll follow you anywhere, and I wasn't working here," Kisshu said with a grin.

"Good luck running this place by yourself, Ryou," Ichigo said. The others looked at each other, nodded, and followed Ichigo out the door.

"HEY! GET BACK HERE! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH NO WORKERS?" Ryou shouted.

Ichigo said without turning around, "That's your problem." Then she and the others continued walking.

When they were a little ways away from the Café, Mint asked, "So what now?"

"Well, it's not like we're fighting anymore, so I guess we can go back to our normal lives," Ichigo said.

"What about me, Pai and Taruto?" Kisshu asked.

"You can go to school with us," Ichigo said. "I'm sure Pudding would love to have Taruto in her class, and Lettuce would probably like to have Pai at her school. Personally, I'd love to go to school with you, Kisshu. Then I'd get to spend all day with you!"

"How are we going to pull off the ears?" Kisshu asked.

"Pai should be able to think of something," Ichigo said. "He is a genius, after all."

"You're right," Kisshu said. "Let's talk to him when he gets back."

**Okay, so I totally killed the MintXRyou relationship. I hate the guy. Sorry to Ryou fans, but hey, at least I didn't kill him. Review, and I'll update!**


	20. Pai and Taruto's Return

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 20:**

**Pai and Taruto Return**

Two days after the Mews quit Café Mew Mew, Ichigo and Kisshu were hanging out in her room, when Pai and Taruto teleported in.

"Pai! Taruto!" Kisshu said. "How did it go?"

Pai sighed and said, "Well, the planet is healed, but we're all exiled for killing Deep Blue. Luckily healing the planet meant that the elders decided that we could live, just not on Cyniclonia."

"I don't understand how we could save them and then they turn around and exile us," Taruto said.

"Well, they all worshiped Deep Blue like a god," Kisshu said. "Killing him was against our laws. We're lucky to be alive."

"I guess…." Taruto said.

"Well, my house is open," Ichigo said. "You're all welcome to stay here."

"Thanks, Ichigo," Pai said.

"Pai, Ichigo and the other Mews suggested we all go to school with them," Kisshu said. "Do you have any ideas about how we could do that? We need to look like humans."

"Actually, I developed a pill a little while ago," Pai said. "It allows us to look human for about ten hours."

"That's great!" Ichigo said. "School is only six hours a day, so that should work fine."

"I'll get us into the schools," Pai said. "It shouldn't be hard to sign Kisshu, Taruto and myself up for school."

"Okay," Ichigo said. "We'll all be going to different schools though. I'm in middle school, as is Lettuce, but we go to different schools. Pudding is in elementary school."

"If you tell me the names of the schools, it shouldn't be a problem," Pai said.

"Okay," Ichigo said. "I go to Daikon Middle School, Lettuce goes to Aozora Academy, and Pudding goes to Hanabiru Elementary School."

"I'll get right on that," Pai said. "By the way, Kisshu, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," Kisshu said. "Ichigo healed me, and I'm back to full strength."

"That's great," Pai said with relief.

"Hey, should we go tell Keiichiro and Ryou that we're back?" Taruto asked.

"Um… I wouldn't get too close to Ryou," Ichigo said.

"Why?" Pai asked

"Ryou fired me, most likely because I told him Kisshu was ten times what he'll ever be, and all the other Mews quit too," Ichigo explained. "He's not too happy with us right now, and he's probably even less happy with you guys, since he hates you all anyways. It's better just to leave him alone."

"And the reason you told him Kisshu is ten times better than him would be…?" Pai asked.

"He asked me why I hated him so much, and I told him it was because he treated me so badly. He also seemed to think I would fall in love with him if I broke up with the treehugger, so I told him that Kisshu's ten times what he'll ever be. Besides, it's true," Ichigo said.

"Aw, thanks Koneko-chan," Kisshu said.

"Fine, we'll stay away from Ryou," Pai said. "Besides, I bet their computers know we're back anyways."

"You're probably right," Ichigo said.

"So now nobody's working at Café Mew Mew?" Taruto asked.

"Yep," Ichigo said. "Ryou's basically made the biggest mistake of his life. Not only did he lose the staff at Café Mew Mew, he can't hire anyone else, because they'd find out about the Mew Project."

"No more cakes…." Taruto said sadly.

"Well, I'm sure Pudding has candy," Ichigo said. "Besides, cake isn't very healthy."

Taruto sighed.

"I'm going to go sign us up for school," Pai said. "I'll be back later."

"Okay," Ichigo said. "Make sure to get uniforms, our schools require them."

"Got it," Pai said, and teleported off.

**Filler, I know. I just wanted to get Pai and Taruto back before I try out the school scene thing. I've never tried putting anyone in a school setting, so it may not come out well, but I've got some ideas…. Please Review!**


	21. The First Day of School

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 21:**

**The First Day of School**

Too soon, the summer break was over, and everyone had to go back to school. Pai had successfully enrolled himself, Kisshu and Taruto in the schools Ichigo had mentioned. They were all excited, and Pudding and Lettuce were coming over to get Pai and Taruto.

By the time Lettuce and Pudding showed up, Ichigo and the Cyniclons were ready. Pai and Kisshu were in their new school uniforms, which they didn't really like, but decided to put up with. Taruto, being an elementary school student, could wear what he wanted, but Ichigo still made him put on human clothes.

Pai had gotten some of the pills to make them look human, and he, Kisshu and Taruto all took one. Now they all looked human.

Once Lettuce and Pudding showed up, they all said their goodbyes, and parted ways. Ichigo and Kisshu walked off holding hands, on their way to Daikon Middle School. They finally got to the schoolyard, where they realized that for once, they were on time.

"Kisshu, we should get to the classroom," Ichigo said. "Do you have your schedule?"

"Yeah, it's the same as yours," Kisshu said with a smirk.

"Yay! We get to have all our classes together?" Ichigo asked.

"Yep, Pai did a good job," Kisshu said.

"Remind me to thank him," Ichigo said. She then dragged Kisshu to their first class, which was History. As the class settled down, Ichigo noticed that Moe and Miwa were in her class too. Kisshu sat down next to her, and she smiled at him. He smiled back at her, then turned toward the front of the room, like everyone else.

The teacher walked to the front of the room and said, "We have a new student in our class this year, and I'd like you all to welcome Ikisatashi Kisshu. Kisshu, would you please come up here?"

Kisshu looked nervous, but obeyed. "Kisshu, could you tell us a bit about yourself?" the teacher asked.

"Um.. okay," Kisshu said, then continued, "I'm fourteen years old, and this is my first time in a public school. I've always been homeschooled, but I decided to go to this school instead this year. My favorite food is strawberries, and I really like cats."

"Thank you, Kisshu, you may sit down now," the teacher said. Kisshu bowed and went back to sit with Ichigo.

The teacher said, "I expect that everyone did their summer homework, and I'd like you to hand it in. Momomiya Ichigo, will you go first?"

Ichigo flinched, but said, "Sensei, I wasn't here for the last two days of school, so I don't know what the summer homework was."

"That's right…. May I ask why you missed those days?" the teacher asked.

Ichigo looked down. "My parents died in a shipwreck, and I was busy with the arrangements so I could keep living in the same place," she said.

The teacher's hand flew to her mouth, and the whole class except for Kisshu, Moe and Miwa gasped.

After about five minutes of complete silence, the teacher said, "I'm so sorry, Ichigo, I had no idea. I will excuse you from the homework, since you didn't get it. I'm going to tell your other teachers too, okay? They may decide not to excuse you, but at least you won't have to announce this again."

"Thanks, Sensei," Ichigo said quietly. Kisshu squeezed her shoulder, and she looked at him gratefully.

After a short pause, the teacher said in a more normal voice, "I'm going to give you all an assignment, that I want done by the end of class. While you're working, I'm going to go the rest of Ichigo's teachers. I expect you all to work and not bug her."

"Yes Sensei," the class responded. The teacher nodded, and started passing out a worksheet. Ichigo looked at hers. It was a little quiz on Ancient Edo. Remembering some of what she learned last year, she was about to start on the questions, when she thought of something. Did Kisshu even know Japanese history? She decided to use telepathy and ask.

_Kisshu? Do you know anything about Japanese history? _She asked.

Kisshu heard her and replied, _Pai made me and Taruto read like five books over the last weeks, so we'd know at least a little. I'll be fine._

Ichigo nodded slightly, and got back to work. She finished as the teacher came back, as did Kisshu. "How is everyone doing?" the teacher asked.

"Kisshu and I are done," Ichigo said.

"Good, will you bring your papers up here?" the teacher asked. Kisshu and Ichigo walked up and handed the teacher their papers. "Thanks," the teacher said. "Ichigo, I told your other teachers and the principal the reason for your absence, and they all said they'd excuse you. I want you to know that you can come to me if you need to talk, okay?"

"Thank you, Sensei," Ichigo said "Thanks for your support."

The teacher smiled and said, "Sure." Then she stood up and addressed the rest of the class. "Class is almost over, so will you all bring your papers up here?"

Ichigo and Kisshu went back to their seats as their classmates filed up to pass in their papers. Then the bell rang, and they went to their next class.

The rest of the day was a little weird for Ichigo. People she didn't even really know kept coming up to her and saying stuff like, "I'm sorry for your loss." Luckily for her, she had Kisshu with her all day, and he was very helpful. It was nice that she could communicate with him telepathically.

Finally it was time to go home, and Moe and Miwa came up to Ichigo. "Ichigo, we're both really sorry to hear about your parents," Miwa said.

Moe looked at Kisshu. Then she turned to Ichigo and said, "So this is your new boyfriend?"

Ichigo blushed. "Y-yeah, Kisshu and I got together a while ago, a little after Masaya dumped me."

"Have you heard that he's still missing?" Miwa asked.

"No, he is?" Ichigo said.

"Yeah, the girls at school are all really upset," Moe said.

"Does that mean you two are upset?" Kisshu asked.

"No, we know that he's a real jerk. No one in their right mind would dump Ichigo for no reason," Miwa said.

"Yeah, and if YOU hurt her, we'll hunt you down," Moe said.

"I would NEVER hurt Ichigo!" Kisshu shouted.

"Okay, good," Miwa said. "We'll leave you two alone." She dragged Moe off with her.

"Your friends are kind of scary," Kisshu told Ichigo when they were home.

"No, they're just overprotective, kinda like my dad was, but not as bad," Ichigo said.

"I guess we should get our homework done," Kisshu said. "Then we can have fun!"

"Okay," Ichigo said. They went up to Ichigo's room, and got started.

**I'm not sure if this is any good, but I had another idea, so you'll see it next chapter. Plz Review!**


	22. Threat

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 22:**

**Threat**

The next few days at school were similar to the first. Finally it was Friday. Ichigo was happy because she could sleep in for the next two days. Kisshu was happy because he'd get alone time with Ichigo. However, their peace was about to be broken.

During the third period class, which for Kisshu and Ichigo was Maths, the school intercom came on. Everyone in the school was suddenly silent as the principal's voice came over the speakers.

"_Students, I regret to inform you that we have received a bomb threat. Everyone must evacuate immediately. I repeat, everyone in the school must evacuate. Please stay calm and follow your teachers' instructions. The police will be here shortly."_

Everyone looked at each other, scared. Ichigo noticed Kisshu was confused, and said telepathically, _A bomb threat means that someone may have planted explosives in the school._

Kisshu nodded slightly, showing he understood.

Their teacher stood up and said, "All right everyone, you heard the principal. Remember, stay calm. We're going to go out the doors and get as far away from the school as possible until the police say it's okay to go back."

"Hai, Sensei," the class chorused. The teacher nodded and walked to the door, followed by the class. Kisshu stayed next to Ichigo as they walked in silence out the front doors. When the teacher judged that they were as far away as they needed to be, then said, "I'm taking attendance, so please respond immediately if your name is called."

Soon the teacher said, "Everyone is present and accounted for." By this point, the rest of the school had joined them. They could see that the grounds were crawling with police and a bomb squad.

Finally they saw a police officer come up to the principal and start talking to him. Then the officer handed the principal a piece of paper. The principal nodded and announced, "The school has been deemed safe. Please return to your assigned classes."

The other classes all went back, but before Ichigo's class could go anywhere, the principal came up to her teacher and started whispering. The teacher's eyes widened, and then he nodded. Then he said, "Momomiya Ichigo and Ikisatashi Kisshu, please come here a moment."

Kisshu and Ichigo looked puzzled, but they came forward as the teacher said, "Class, please follow me back to the classroom. Ichigo and Kisshu will be joining us shortly."

The others looked puzzled, and a bit worried, but they obeyed. This left Ichigo and Kisshu alone with the principal. Before they could ask what was going on, a police officer joined them, and said, "Here's the letter." He handed a paper to the principal.

"Um… May I ask what's going on?" Ichigo said.

"Yes," the police officer said. "This bomb threat was not merely aimed at the school. Here, read this." He handed the paper to Ichigo, who read aloud,

"_Momomiya Ichigo, since you rejected me and quit, your friends will pay the price. I left a bomb in your school. That should teach you to mess with me. Oh, and Kisshu, you're going to pay as well. Say goodbye to your little brother."_

"We also received a bomb threat at Hanabiru Elementary School, so I'm assuming that Ikisatashi Taruto is your younger brother," the officer said when Ichigo had finished reading. "However, while there was no bomb here, we did find one at the elementary school. We managed to defuse it before it went off, and everyone there is safe."

"Still, this is worrying," the principal said. "Do either of you have any idea who might have sent these threats?"

Ichigo and Kisshu looked at each other, and then it clicked. "I think, judging by the part of this letter that says I rejected the writer and quit, that the person behind this is Shirogane Ryou, the owner of Café Mew Mew," Ichigo said. "He was my boss, but he fired me for telling him that Kisshu was ten times better than he'll ever be. I believe he wanted me to fall in love with him, and he's a person who's used to getting what he wants. He also hates Kisshu, so that explains why he'd be trying to destroy Taruto."

"But you didn't quit, so why would he say you did?" the officer asked.

"He's probably referring to the fact that when he fired me, all his other workers, my best friends, quit too," Ichigo replied.

The officer nodded, then turned to the principal. "I'd like to take these two with me for a while, so could you inform their teachers that they might be gone for the rest of the day? I'd also like you to make it clear that these two did not plant the bomb, so no one will be afraid of them," the officer said.

"Very well, but may I ask why you're taking them?" the principal asked.

"I'd prefer to keep that to myself," the officer said.

The principal sighed, but said, "Just don't let them get hurt."

The police officer bowed and said, "You have my word, sir."

The principal nodded and left them alone. Once he was gone, the officer sighed. "Before we get any further, I think you should know that I know who you both are," the officer said. "I will never reveal your true identities, however, Mew Ichigo and Kisshu."

The two teens turned pale. "You… know about us?" Kisshu asked. "What are you planning?"

The policeman smiled reassuringly. "I'm not going to hurt you, put you in jail, or anything like that," he said. "I just need your help. Don't worry, I'm not going to tell even my fellow officers about you two."

"Why do you need our help?" Ichigo asked.

"This Shirogane guy could become a danger to more than just you," the officer said. "I want you to help me take him in."

"Is it just going to be you and us?" Kisshu asked.

"Hai," the man replied. "And you can call me Shiro."

"O-okay, Shiro," Ichigo said. "What is your plan?"

"We'll go to Café Mew Mew, and capture Shirogane," Shiro said. "I also would like to get the notes on the Mew Project. I recently discovered its existence, but when I saw it was a bunch of teenage girls, I kept it quiet. I'm not too far out of college, and I didn't want to ruin anybody's life. I know what it's like being a teenager."

"Wow, thank you," Ichigo said.

Shiro smiled, and said, "Let's get going."

"Should I transform first?" Ichigo asked.

"Might be a good idea," Shiro said. "There's a small alleyway nearby. Kisshu and I will make sure no one sees you- right Kisshu?"

Kisshu nodded. They all found the alley, and Ichigo ran in. Kisshu and Shiro blocked everyone's view of the alley while Ichigo transformed. She came out fully transformed a minute later.

Kisshu said, "Should I teleport you two there?"

"If Shiro doesn't mind," Ichigo said.

"No, I don't mind," Shiro said. Kisshu grabbed Ichigo's hand and Shiro's shoulder, and teleported to Café Mew Mew.

"What a weird feeling," Shiro said when they landed.

"I'm used to it now," Ichigo said.

"Let's get going," Kisshu said. Ichigo and Shiro nodded, and they went to the back door. They didn't hear anything, so they quietly opened it and went in. The kitchen was empty. "He's probably in the basement," Ichigo whispered.

"Lead the way," Shiro said. Ichigo nodded and went to the stairwell, then crept downstairs, followed by Kisshu and Shiro. They peered through a crack in the door, where they heard voices.

"Ryou, that was nuts!"

"So? If I ruin Ichigo and Kisshus' lives, that's enough for me," they were sure of that voice- Ryou. The other must have been Keiichiro.

"Do you WANT to end up in jail?" Keiichiro asked.

"Not really, but how do you even know that they'll find out it was me?" Ryou said.

"Well, I think that they will, and soon too. I never wanted to hurt anyone anyways. I'm having no part in your insane schemes. Good luck in jail." Ichigo, Kisshu and Shiro heard him walking to the door, and nodded at each other.

"STOP!" Shiro shouted, as Kisshu and Ichigo flung the door open. Keiichiro froze. "You two are coming with me," Shiro continued. "Bomb threats are illegal, and planting an actual bomb is cause for a 12-year jail sentence."

"Try and stop me, then," Ryou said. He pulled out a gun.

"Ryou, that's enough," Keiichiro said. "You're just making this worse."

"Like I care," Ryou snarled. "Those stupid aliens took EVERYTHING away from me. My parents, my position as the caretaker of the Mew Team, and even Ichigo. If I die, I'll take Kisshu, at least, down with me."

"NO, you won't," Ichigo said angrily. "Kisshu, let's end this. Shiro, are you coming?"

"Hai," Shiro said, pulling out a gun of his own, as Ichigo and Kisshu summoned their weapons. Keiichiro started to back away, but Shiro struck him in the head, knocking him out.

"It's three against one," Kisshu said. "Last chance to give it up, Ryou."

"NEVER!" Ryou shouted, and fired his gun.

Shiro, Ichigo and Kisshu dodged, and Kisshu aimed an energy ball at Ryou. Ryou dodged, and the energy ball hit the back wall.

Ichigo shouted, "Ribon…. Strawberry Surprise!" This time, the attack hit, but didn't do much damage, only creating a gash in Ryou's arm.

Ryou fired again, and the others dodged, but the bullet still grazed Kisshu's arm.

"KISSHU!" Ichigo screamed, as Ryou smirked.

Shiro took the opportunity as Ryou watched Kisshu to fire his gun. He managed to hit Ryou's other arm, the one that Ichigo didn't injure. Now both of Ryou's arms were basically useless. He dropped his gun, and Shiro took the opportunity to get out some handcuffs. He stalked over to Ryou, and said, "Shirogane Ryou, you are under arrest." He grabbed Ryou's arms and twisted them behind his back, then put the handcuffs on his wrists.

That done, he took a radio out of his pocket, and turned it on. "Officer Tanaka here, I'm at Café Mew Mew. I found the culprit behind today's bomb threats, and am requesting a car to pick him up."

There was a response, and Shiro said, "Got it. Tanaka out." He turned off the radio, and went over to Kisshu and Ichigo. "Kisshu, how's the arm?" he asked.

"It hurts," Kisshu said. "Ichigo, do you have enough energy left to heal it?"

"Not really," Ichigo said worriedly. "I used up most of mine on that attack."

"I have some bandages," Shiro said. "Ichigo, you'd better de-transform before the others get here."

"Okay," Ichigo said, and touched her pendant, returning back to normal as Shiro took a look at Kisshu's injury.

"This needs to be cleaned out before we bandage it," he said. "If you guys come back to the station, I can do the cleaning there."

"Okay, but we need to put something on it to stop the bleeding," Ichigo said.

"Here's some bandages," Shiro said, handing them over. Ichigo took them and put pressure on Kisshu's injury, which was still bleeding.

"Kisshu, you should sit down," Ichigo said. "You're kind of pale."

"O-okay," Kisshu said. He sat down in one of the chairs until they heard sirens outside.

"I have to go meet them," Shiro announced. "Wait here, okay guys? And don't let Ryou go anywhere."

"Okay," Kisshu and Ichigo said. Shiro went upstairs, and they heard voices. Then Shiro and three other officers came downstairs.

"Hey, what are the kids doing here?" one said. "Shiro…."

"They were very helpful," Shiro said. "Ichigo was a waitress at Café Mew Mew, so she knew the layout of the building."

"And the boy?" the officer asked. "Looks like he's injured. What happened?"

"Ryou pulled a gun on us, and Kisshu was helping me when Ryou fired at him," Shiro said.

"You are going to be in SO much trouble when we get back," the officer informed Shiro. "The kids are coming too."

"It's fine with us if we come, but Kisshu's injury could use treatment," Ichigo said. "Can we hurry?"

"Yes, of course," one of the others said. "Come with us."

Ichigo helped Kisshu up, and they went with the officers to the cars. They then got taken to the police station, where Kisshu's injury got cleaned and bandaged.

Ryou got taken to the cells while Ichigo and Kisshu got questioned. Finally they were done, and an officer took them back to Ichigo's house. They thanked the woman and went inside, where they found the other Mews, Pai and Taruto waiting.

"Where WERE you?" Mint demanded. "We've been worried sick, we couldn't find you guys anywhere."

"There was a bomb threat at our school today, and it turned out that Ryou was behind it," Ichigo said. "We were helping some police officer named Shiro arrest him."

"And why does Kisshu have a bandage on his arm?" Pai asked.

"Ryou tried to shoot me," Kisshu explained. "His bullet grazed my arm."

"Are you okay?" Lettuce asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Kisshu said.

"Well, at least Ryou can't cause trouble if he's in jail," Zakuro said.

"The trial is next week, and Kisshu and I have to go," Ichigo said. "They asked if any of the other Café Mew Mew waitresses wanted to testify, and I said I'd ask."

"No, I think I'm good," Mint, Zakuro, Lettuce and Pudding all said.

Ichigo nodded, and the little meeting broke up.

**Okay, so it got boring toward the end. But I thought it would be interesting to put Ryou in jail rather than killing him. I need more ideas for what should happen next. I'll post after I get some reviews, k?**


	23. Ryou's Trial

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 23:**

**Ryou's Trial**

A week later, Ichigo and Kisshu were getting ready to go to court. Shiro was picking them up, and he had informed them that they had to wear semi-formal clothing. To that end, Ichigo was wearing a pale yellow turtleneck with three-quarter length sleeves, and a sky blue skirt that came to just below her knees. Kisshu was wearing a pair of her father's black dress pants and a white shirt. A little while after they were ready, they heard the doorbell ring. Ichigo grabbed a black purse and went out the door with Kisshu following.

Shiro was waiting for them, and he said, "It's time to go. I'll explain things on the way."

Ichigo and Kisshu got in the car. Kisshu looked a bit nervous, and Shiro noticed. "What's wrong, Kisshu?" he asked.

"It's kind of small in here," Kisshu replied.

"You've never been in a car before, have you?" Ichigo asked.

"No," Kisshu replied.

"I'll try to go slow then," Shiro said. "Now, both of you will be called up to testify against Ryou. You need to answer honestly, but try not to give your identities away. This trial won't be shown on TV, so don't worry about your friends watching you. This is being kept quiet, under the pretense that Café Mew Mew was so popular. It's really just so you girls and the aliens won't be found out. The prosecution probably won't ask to many questions, so just keep calm and answer as honestly as possible. Nothing will happen to either of you, I promise."

"Okay," Ichigo and Kisshu said. Shiro nodded and soon they were at the courthouse.

Shiro led them inside, and to a bench near the front of the room, then said, "I have to go sit with the other officers involved with the arrest. Just stay calm, and you'll be fine. I asked them to call you up together, since I thought it might scare you if you had to go up alone."

"Thanks, Shiro," Kisshu said. Shiro nodded and left.

Soon the room was full, and then a pair of police officers led Ryou in. They led him to the witness stand, and stood on either side of him to make sure he didn't run. After Ryou swore to tell the truth, the the prosecution started asking questions.

"Shirogane Ryou, why did you plant a bomb in Hanabiru Elementary School?"

Ryou replied angrily, "I was trying to kill Ikisatashi Taruto, who goes to school there."

"Why were you trying to kill this boy?"

"I wanted revenge on his older brother, Ikisatashi Kisshu," Ryou said.

"Why did you send a bomb threat to Daikon Middle School?"

"I wanted to ruin Momomiya Ichigo's life, since she rejected me, and making the school believe that she and Kisshu were terrorists seemed like a good way," Ryou replied.

"Very well. I would like Momomiya Ichigo and Ikisatashi Kisshu to come up here. Guards, take Shirogane Ryou away!"

As the guards obeyed, Kisshu and Ichigo stood up, and walked to the witness stand. Once there, the judge asked, "Do you two swear to tell nothing but the truth?"

"Yes," Kisshu and Ichigo replied.

"Miss Momomiya, may I start with you?" the prosecutor asked.

"Hai," Ichigo said.

"You worked as a waitress in Café Mew Mew, correct?" the man asked.

"Hai," Ichigo said.

"How did you find this job?" the man asked.

Ichigo looked panicked; now she'd HAVE to tell everyone her secret. Suddenly a voice in the crowd said, "Objection to the question!" It was Shiro.

"May I ask why?" the prosecutor said.

"There is a problem, which I don't want to go into with all these people around," Shiro said.

Seeing that he was serious, the judge leaned down and said, "In that case, clear the courtroom. I would like only the jury to stay. And clear out any reporters, too!"

The guards looked startled, but began ushering everyone out nonetheless. Finally it was just the judge, the prosecutor, the other members of the jury, Shiro and his fellow officers, and Kisshu and Ichigo.

"Now, Tanaka Shiro, what was that about?" the judge said.

"I wanted Ichigo to have a little more privacy when she told you the truth," Shiro said. "Ichigo, you should go ahead."

Ichigo nodded, and said, "About a year ago, just before Café Mew Mew opened, Shirogane Ryou created Tokyo Mew Mew. I was the first Mew. He spliced my DNA without my consent, in order to fight off the aliens. He also spliced the DNA of four other girls, and made all of us fight the aliens, as well as run the Café for him."

Aside from Shiro and Kisshu, everyone looked shocked.

"Why didn't you tell anyone?" the prosecutor asked.

"It would have put those I knew in danger, and I didn't want people looking at me like I was a freak," Ichigo said.

One of the women on the jury said, "What was with those outfits?" Everyone glared at her, but Ichigo replied, "Ryou's also a pervert."

"Did he ever sexually harass you?" the prosecutor asked.

"No, but he seemed to take pleasure in overworking me, as well as making me go out with the other Mews to fight," Ichigo replied.

"Do you know why he would send bomb threats?" the prosecutor asked.

"I believe there are two reasons. One, he was angry when I told him that I wouldn't go out with him, but two, he wanted revenge because when he decided to fire me, all the other Mews quit too," Ichigo said. "He's probably insane by this point."

"Thank you for answering honestly, Miss Momomiya," the judge said. "I will make sure that no one in here reveals your secret."

"Thank you, sir," Ichigo said.

The judge smiled, then turned to Shiro. "Officer Tanaka, you knew about Miss Momomiya, correct?"

"Hai," Shiro said.

"Is there a reason you didn't tell your fellow officers about this?" the prosecutor asked.

"I did not want to ruin her life by telling too many people about her secret," Shiro replied. "It's bad enough she had no choice in the matter; I did not want to make things worse."

"Very well," the judge said. "Guards, bring Shirogane Ryou back in here."

The guards bowed and left. A few minutes later, they came back with Ryou.

"Mr Shirogane, I have another question. Did Akasaka Keiichiro help you with the Mew Project?" the judge asked.

Ryou glared at Ichigo and Kisshu, but said, "Yes, he did."

"Very well, I am going to go over your case with the jury. Guards, take him back to his cell!" The guards dragged Ryou off. When he was gone, the judge turned to Shiro. "Officer Tanaka, please take Miss Momomiya and Mr. Ikisatashi home," he said. "You are dismissed too. I will contact you when the verdict comes in."

Shiro bowed and said, "Thank you sir." Then he turned to Kisshu and Ichigo. "Let's go, guys," he said. The two teens followed him out the courtroom door, and back to his car.

"That was close," Ichigo said. "Thanks for helping us, Shiro."

"No problem, Ichigo," Shiro said. "I didn't want to ruin your life. I promised, right?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said with a smile.

"I'm just glad they didn't ask me any questions," Kisshu said. "That could have been bad."

"Well, I would have helped you too," Shiro said. "But you're right, it's better that they didn't find out you're an alien."

"Thanks, Shiro," Kisshu said.

"Sure," Shiro said. "Hey, since I just got dismissed too, do you want me to take you guys out for ice cream?"

"Yeah, that'd be great!" Kisshu and Ichigo replied together. Shiro smiled and started up the car.

**Okay, so to be honest, I have NO idea what they say at real trials, so I just made it up. I know it's weird, but maybe the next chapter will be better. Please review!**


	24. The Verdict

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 24:**

**The Verdict**

After they were finished with their ice cream, Shiro took Kisshu and Ichigo home. When they got inside, Pai, Taruto and the other Mews were waiting anxiously.

"How did it go?" Lettuce asked.

"Well, the verdict hasn't come in yet, but it wasn't so great for me," Ichigo said. "The prosecutor asked me how I met Ryou. Luckily Shiro got the judge to clear the court so I could speak to the jury alone. I had to reveal my identity as Mew Ichigo, but the judge said he'd keep my secret. I didn't reveal your identities, though. Luckily, Kisshu didn't have to explain that he was really a Cyniclon, so we avoided too much trouble."

"That's a relief," Pai said. "We were all exiled, so it would be bad if the government found out we're living here."

"Shiro said he'd contact us when the verdict came in," Kisshu said. "That should happen soon."

Just as Kisshu said this, the phone rang. "Hello?" Ichigo said when she picked up.

"_Ichigo, it's Shiro," _Shiro said. _"Can you put me on speakerphone? The others should hear this too."_

"Sure," Ichigo said, and pressed a button on the phone. Now everyone could hear Shiro.

Shiro continued, _"The verdict just came in. Ryou has been sentenced to 20 years for unauthorized use of genetic splicing, creating Child Soldiers, pulling a gun on a police officer, and injuring a minor. Keiichiro has been sentenced to ten years, since he helped Ryou with the Mew Project. I also learned that the judge has ordered everyone to keep quiet about the Mew Project, including the reporters who covered the trial. Your secret's safe. If you ever have trouble, I want you to come to me, because the judge said anyone who so much as mentions Ichigo's identity will be discreetly fired. The only ones who know are the jury, the police officers, and me. Oh, and I'm still keeping Kisshu's identity quiet, so you won't have to worry about getting arrested for harboring aliens. I understand the situation, and I promise not to breathe a word about it."_

"Thank you, Shiro," Kisshu said.

"_Of course, Kisshu," _Shiro said._ "I have to go, but if you don't mind, I'd like to check in periodically, to make sure you're doing okay. Not as a police officer, just as a friend."_

"That's fine," Ichigo said. "Maybe you could come over for dinner once in a while."

"_I'd like that," _Shiro said. _"I'll keep in touch, but I have to go now. Bye!"_

"Bye!" everyone in the room said. They heard Shiro hang up, so Ichigo hung up after turning off speakerphone.

"Well, that's a relief," Mint said. "Now we're all safe."

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "We owe everything to Shiro. He actually managed to get the judge to clear the court so I didn't have to reveal our secret to the world."

"Well, that's good," Lettuce said. "I have to go home, so I'll see you all around."

"Me too, na no da," Pudding said. "I need to feed my siblings."

"I'm going to get going too,' Mint said.

"Same here," Zakuro said. "Call us if you need us, Ichigo."

"I will, thanks," Ichigo said. "Ja ne, minna."

The others nodded and left.

**I know it's short and a filler, but I wanted to establish that Ryou is now in jail, and out of the story. Shiro isn't going to betray them, but if you have any ideas, please review, because I'm feeling braindead again.**


	25. The Next Day

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 25:**

**The Next Day**

The day after the verdict came in was a Saturday, so everyone had a day off. Pai and Lettuce were going to the library- their version of a date. Pudding and Taruto were going to the playground, and Taruto was sleeping over at Pudding's house. Mint had a party to go to, and Zakuro had a photoshoot.

Kisshu and Ichigo were going to go on a date too. Kisshu was taking Ichigo to the beach. Of course, since he could teleport, they were going to a beach in the Caribbean! Ichigo packed up a picnic lunch and their swimsuits, and Kisshu teleported them to a small beach in the Caribbean.

"Wow, it's so pretty here," Ichigo said.

"Not as pretty as you," Kisshu said, smirking. Ichigo blushed, but then noticed that Kisshu was smirking and not smiling.

_Uh-oh, he's got that _look _on his face, _she thought. _He's planning something, I just know it._

"Hey Koneko-chan, wanna go swimming?" Kisshu asked, still smirking.

"Why do you have that perverted smirk on your face?" Ichigo asked warily.

"No reason," Kisshu said, now smiling normally.

"Okay… I guess we could go swimming," Ichigo said.

Kisshu ran over to the water, followed by Ichigo. "Hey, it's warm," Kisshu called out. "I thought water on Earth was cold."

"Not always," Ichigo said. "It depends on where you are, and which ocean you're swimming in. Besides, there are hot springs in Japan, didn't you know that?"

"I was a bit busy trying to win your heart and take over the world to go to some hot spring," Kisshu said teasingly. "By the way, I thought cats hated water."

"Well, I'm part human, so I guess that's why I still like the ocean," Ichigo said. "Let's swim!" She waded in and then dived under. When she came back to the surface, a little farther out, Kisshu was nowhere to be seen. "Kisshu?" she called out. No response. She tried again, and was about to go looking, when something grabbed her leg and pulled her underwater. She instinctively held her breath. When she opened her eyes, she came face-to-face with a smirking Kisshu.

_I knew you planning something, _Ichigo said telepathically. _Could you let go? I'm running out of air._

Kisshu's eyes widened, and he grabbed her, teleporting back to the beach. Ichigo let out the breath she had been holding.

"Sorry Koneko-chan! Are you okay?" Kisshu asked. He didn't sound playful anymore. Now he sounded really worried.

"I'm fine," Ichigo reassured him. "Just remember, I can't breathe underwater."

Kisshu sighed, relieved. "Maybe we should take a break, I'm hungry," he said.

"Okay," Ichigo said. She took out the sandwiches she had made that morning. Kisshu had tuna, and Ichigo had chicken salad. Ichigo had also packed lemonade and potato chips, as well as fruit salad.

"This is good," Kisshu said, swallowing a mouthful of potato chips. "I've never had these potato things."

"I really like them, and they're called potato chips," Ichigo said.

Suddenly Ichigo heard a noise from the picnic basket, and looked in. Her cell phone was ringing. She looked at the caller ID, and got worried. It was Shiro.

"Who is it?" Kisshu asked.

"Shiro," Ichigo replied as she answered. "Hi Shiro, is something wrong?"

"_Where are you? Pai said you're not in Japan anymore!" _Shiro said. He sounded scared.

Ichigo replied, "Kisshu took me to a Caribbean island for a picnic. You sound scared, did something happen?"

"_Yes! Ryou escaped from prison!" _Shiro said.

"We'll be back at my house soon," Ichigo said. "Meet us there, and I'll call up the others."

"_Okay, see you soon," _Shiro said, and hung up.

"What was that?" Kisshu asked.

"We need to get back, Ryou escaped," Ichigo said. "Can you teleport us?"

"Sure," Kisshu said. He grabbed Ichigo's hand and the picnic basket, and teleported back to their house. Pai and Taruto were there already, as were the other Mews.

"Pai told us the news," Zakuro said. "Shiro should be here in half an hour, you might want to go get dressed in something other than a swimsuit."

Kisshu and Ichigo ran upstairs and changed into their normal clothes. When they got back down, they heard a knock on the door. Ichigo looked through the peephole, and then let Shiro in quickly.

"Shiro, how did this happen?" Ichigo asked.

"We- the police- actually have no idea," Shiro admitted. "There's no sign that he broke out; no broken bars, nothing except a note he left. Here, I brought it with me." He handed a paper to Ichigo, who read it out loud.

"_I'll get my revenge on all of you this time. Now you don't have a chance, so you might as well give it up. Now that I can fight too, you'll never survive. You'll all go down in flames, and there's nothing you can do. _

_ -Ryou_

"Well, this is bad," Taruto said. "What are we going to do now?"

"Something about the letter puzzles me," Pai said. "He said he could fight too. What do you think that means?"

"Wait," Lettuce said. "What if he injected himself with some kind of DNA before you guys caught him?"

"If that's so, it could explain how he got out," Pai said. "I think that he had some of our DNA, so if he infused himself with Cyniclon DNA, he can probably teleport. That would explain how he got out of prison."

"That's just great," Shiro groaned. "How are we going to catch him NOW?"

Everyone thought about this. Suddenly Mint said, "Well, this isn't how to capture him, but I think he had a teleport canceller in his lab, so if we CAN catch him, he won't be able to get out again."

"Yeah, that's good, but we need to catch him first," Shiro said.

"Yeah, but HOW?" Ichigo asked. "I don't know how to catch someone who can teleport. Also, if one of us captured him and he teleported, we might be in danger if he managed to take that person with him."

"Good point," Kisshu said.

Everyone went back to thinking. Finally Shiro said, "I guess we'll have to wait it out. Till then, keep your guard up, minna. We don't want a hostage situation, which is what I'm afraid Ryou is planning."

Everyone nodded, and the meeting broke up.

**I need ideas now, so please PM me with any suggestions you may have. I'm not sure what to do next. I got the idea to have Ryou break out of prison from peacexxx, who has been very helpful to me. By the way, to those of you who want Ichigo to get pregnant, I'm sorry, but she's only 13. I'm not going to get her pregnant at that age. If she was sixteen, maybe, but not now. Please review and PM me with any ideas!**


	26. Alto

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 26:**

**Alto**

After Shiro and the other Mews left, Ichigo, Kisshu, Pai and Taruto were still trying to think of a solution. Suddenly Ichigo thought of something. "What if Ryou never actually infused himself with anything? He could have gotten out as Alto," she said.

"Alto?" Kisshu asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo replied. "Ryou has the ability to turn into a gray kitten with a green bandana around his neck. When he's in that form, his name is Alto. I can't believe I forgot that!"

"We'd better call Shiro," Pai said. "He needs to know this."

"Okay," Ichigo said. She took out her cell phone and dialed Shiro's number.

"Tanaka Shiro speaking," Shiro said.

"Shiro, this is Ichigo. I just remembered something that may explain how Ryou got out," Ichigo said.

"What is it?" Shiro asked.

"Ryou has the ability to turn into a kitten," Ichigo said. "You might want to ask around at the prison if anyone's seen a small gray kitten with a green bandana around its neck."

"I'm on it, thanks Ichigo," Shiro said, and hung up.

"Well, that's all we can do right now," Pai said. "We'll have to wait for Shiro's response."

"We should call the other Mews," Kisshu said. "They should know this too."

"Okay," Ichigo said. She got out her cell phone again and dialed Mint's number. When Mint picked up, Ichigo said, "Mint, we have to be careful, Ryou might have turned into Alto. Stay away from gray cats for a while, okay?"

"Sure Ichigo, but why didn't you think of this earlier?" Mint asked.

"I kind of…. forgot," Ichigo said.

Mint sighed, but said, "I'll be careful."

"Thanks. Oh, will you tell Zakuro this?" Ichigo asked.

"I'd love to," Mint said. "Ja ne!"

"Ja ne," Ichigo replied, and hung up. Then she turned to Pai. "Pai, will you go tell Lettuce?" she asked.

"Sure," Pai said and teleported off.

Ichigo turned to Taruto. "Will you tell Pudding?" she asked him.

"Yep!" Taruto said, and he teleported off as well.

This left Kisshu and Ichigo alone. "So what do you want to do now, Koneko-chan?" Kisshu asked.

"I don't know," Ichigo said. "What about you?" As soon as those words left her mouth, she knew she was going to regret them.

She was right, too, since Kisshu then got another perverted smirk on his face. "Let's make out!" he said excitedly.

Ichigo sighed, but didn't have time to say anything, as Kisshu pressed his lips against hers. She was surprised, though; this time he was much gentler, though still passionate. She responded to this, returning the kiss with equal passion. Both their eyes slid closed, and Ichigo wound her arms around Kisshu's neck while he wrapped his arms around her waist. After a minute or two, they broke apart for air, both of them out of breath.

"Well, how was that, Koneko-chan?" Kisshu asked with a slightly less perverted smirk.

Ichigo caught her breath and said, sounding slightly shocked, "That was…. _great._"

"You sound surprised," Kisshu said. "Didn't know I was that great a kisser, huh?"

Ichigo blushed dark red and said, "Maybe…. I did…."

Kisshu's smirk broadened, and he was about to say something else, but the doorbell rang, and he said, "Damn!"

Ichigo went to the peephole, then quickly let Shiro in. "What did you find out?" she asked him.

Shiro looked grim as he said, "You were right. I interviewed the guards on duty last night, which is when Ryou escaped. Two of them said they saw a gray kitten running around, but one didn't think much of it, and the other actually opened the door to let the kitten out!"

"That's not good," Kisshu said. "We'll have trouble finding a small kitten."

"I already have 'Wanted' posters out for Ryou, but I was wondering, could one of you either draw or find a picture of Alto?" Shiro asked. "If we put up a bunch of 'Lost Cat' posters too, that might help."

"I'm not sure there _are _any pictures of Alto, but he looks similar to me in cat form," Ichigo said. "The only differences are the green bandana, and the fur and eye color. His fur is light gray with dark gray paws, and his eyes are turquoise."

"You can turn into a cat too?" Shiro asked.

"Y-yeah, but I have to kiss someone," Ichigo said. "My cat form only comes out when my emotions are really heightened. Otherwise I just get the ears and tail."

"Wait, I just kissed you, and you didn't turn into a cat then," Kisshu said.

"It has to be a kiss from a human," Ichigo said. "Ryou did it to me a lot, just to annoy me."

"Well, I can draw," Kisshu said. "People tell me I'm good at it, too, so I could draw a picture, if we turn Ichigo into a cat for me to work off of."

"How are we going to do that though?" Shiro asked.

Ichigo looked at Kisshu apologetically. "I think it's the only way," she said. Kisshu grimaced, but didn't object as Ichigo said, "Um… Shiro, since you're the only human around, you're going to have to um… kiss me."

Shiro turned bright red, and said, "I guess so…" Then he leaned down, and kissed Ichigo on the lips.

POOF! Where Ichigo had been standing, there was a small black kitten with a pink bow on its tail and hot pink eyes.

Shiro and Kisshu stared down at Neko Ichigo, who stared innocently back. "I didn't realize when I started working with you guys what I'd have to do," Shiro said. "What's next?"

"I get to draw a picture of Alto, working off of Ichigo," Kisshu said. "And I need you to stick around, because I can't turn Ichigo back to normal."

"Fine… I'll call my office and tell them I'm doing some work with you guys," Shiro said. "Kisshu, get to work on that drawing."

Kisshu nodded and picked up Ichigo, then went back to their room and sat down at Ichigo's desk with a piece of paper and some pencils. Then he said, "Koneko-chan, can you try to sit still in one position for a while?"

"Nya…" Ichigo said sadly.

"Come on, it's not that bad," Kisshu said. "I'll be done soon."

"Nya." Ichigo sat down with her front paws together, and Kisshu started drawing. Half an hour later, he had a pretty accurate picture of Alto, since Ichigo had discovered she could still use telepathy in this form.

Kisshu stood up and stretched, then watched Ichigo stretch too. Then Ichigo looked up at Kisshu and said, "Nya?"

"Okay…." Kisshu said, not understanding.

"Nya, mew, nyan!" Ichigo said, then put her paw to her lips.

"Oh, you want to go back to normal now?" Kisshu said.

"NYA!" Ichigo said excitedly and ran out of the room. Kisshu followed, chuckling a bit. He found her sitting on the sofa, poking Shiro in the nose with her paw. Kisshu burst out laughing. Shiro had fallen asleep, and Ichigo poking him was pretty funny.

Shiro woke up at the sound of Kisshu's laughter, and jumped back when he saw Ichigo two inches away from his nose. When he calmed down, he said, "Sorry I fell asleep. Kisshu, did you finish the picture?"

Kisshu held up his drawing and said, "Sure did."

"Wow, that's really good," Shiro said.

"NYAAA!" Ichigo said, causing the guys to look at her.

"Oh, we need to change Ichigo back to normal now," Kisshu said.

Shiro sighed, and picked up Ichigo, then kissed her on the lips again.

POOF! Ichigo was back. "Thanks, Shiro," Ichigo said.

"Um… sure…" Shiro said.

"What's wrong?" Ichigo asked.

"I didn't really expect to be kissing anyone on this assignment…. especially not someone younger than me," Shiro said uncomfortably.

"Sorry, but that's the only way I can change back and forth," Ichigo said. "If Kisshu could have done it, he would have, but at least we got the picture, right?"

"Yeah," Shiro said, cheering up. "I'll take it over to Headquarters now."

"Okay," Ichigo said. "Let us know how the search goes, and if we can help."

"Will do," Shiro said, and left.

"You poking him in the nose was hilarious, Koneko-chan," Kisshu said.

Ichigo giggled. "It's good he doesn't like kissing me, though," she said. "It means he'll be less likely to turn out like some boys at my school before we started dating."

"Yeah, wouldn't want him falling in love with you," Kisshu said. "You are mine, after all."

"Well, you're mine, so I guess we're even," Ichigo said.

Kisshu smiled, and the two began kissing again.

**Well, that was interesting. I thought it would be fun to see Shiro's reaction to having to kiss Ichigo. Don't worry, Ichigo won't fall in love with him, and he won't fall for her either, since he's about six or seven years older than her. This is the last chapter for tonight, so I'll post more tomorrow. Till then, REVIEW and tell me what you think!**


	27. School Troubles, and a Kidnapping

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 27:**

**School Troubles and a Kidnapping**

Shiro had gone back to the police station, and everyone was waiting to hear any news. School was becoming a bit tough for Kisshu and Ichigo. Despite the principal's announcement and the teachers' keeping other students from bugging or bullying Kisshu and Ichigo, they were starting to miss some lessons, and homework was getting hard to keep up with.

One day, the principal called them into his office. "I know you two are having a hard time balancing school and helping the police," he told them. "You aren't having any problems with other students, are you?"

"No sir," Ichigo said. "Your announcement that we've been chosen to help the police really helped us. Not to mention the fact that if anyone says anything even remotely mean to either of us, my overprotective friends corner that person and start yelling at them. No one's tried it since they screamed at the captain of the martial arts team and he ran away screaming."

The principal sighed, but said, "That's good, but please tell your friends not to physically hurt anyone, okay?"

"They already know that, but I'll remind them," Ichigo said.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" the principal asked. "Your teachers and I are concerned about your grades going down."

"We just might need extensions on some assignments," Kisshu said. "We don't always get the longer papers or projects done in time if something with the police comes up."

"I understand," the principal said. "I will instruct your teachers to give you extensions on what you need. I do expect you to not abuse that privilege, however. This is only if you need it."

"We understand," Ichigo and Kisshu said.

Suddenly the phone rang. "It's the police again," the principal sighed. "Wait here."

He picked up the receiver and said, "Moshi moshi?" After a few minutes, he sighed and said, "I'll tell them. Please don't make a habit of this." He seemed to get a reply, and then he hung up.

"Okay, Officer Tanaka is on his way here. There's some kind of lead on the guy you're trying to catch," the principal said. "You should go to the school gate and wait for him, I'll go get your homework and schoolwork for the day, and you can have it tomorrow. I'll also inform your teachers that they may need to give you extensions on some things."

"Thank you, sir," Ichigo said. Then she and Kisshu ran out to meet Shiro.

A few minutes later, Shiro pulled up in a police car and said, "Get in, we've got work to do."

Ichigo and Kisshu got in, worried by his tone. As he pulled away from the school, Ichigo asked, "Is something wrong? You sound worried."

"We received a call from a woman named Midorikawa Yume," Shiro said. "Apparently her daughter Lettuce has gone missing. I knew that was your friend, so I decided to call you guys up to help me find her."

Kisshu and Ichigo gasped. "This is really bad," Kisshu said. "Pai is going to go berserk. Not to mention the fact that Lettuce is the nicest out of all of us. Ryou might exploit that."

"Well, we'll just have to find her," Ichigo said. "I'll try to contact her pendant." Ichigo took out her Mew pendant and tapped it, then said, "Lettuce, can you hear me?"

Instead of Lettuce's voice, Ryou's voice came through and said, "I've got Lettuce's pendant now. You'll never find us. Why don't you just give it up?"

"Because she's our friend, and we're not going to go down without a fight," Ichigo said. "You're a complete idiot if you think we'll just leave Lettuce with you. We'll never give up!"

"Well, good luck trying, then," Ryou said sarcastically. Then he hung up.

Ichigo sighed, but then looked thoughtful. "Shiro, do you have the computers Ryou and Keiichiro used to track us and the Cyniclons?" she asked.

"Yeah…" Shiro said.

"Let's go find Pai. He can help us track down Lettuce's pendant using those computers," Ichigo said.

"That's a great idea!" Shiro said. They had just pulled into the police station, so Shiro got out his cell phone and called Pai's school. "This is Officer Tanaka Shiro, of the Tokyo Police Department," he said into the phone. "I need you to excuse Ikisatashi Pai from his afternoon classes, I need his help with a case." Shiro got a reply, and said, "No, I'd rather not go into detail. Okay, thanks. I'll be right over."

Shiro hung up and said, "Would you mind staying here for a bit? I'll bring Pai back here shortly."

"Okay," Kisshu said. "We'll wait." Ichigo nodded.

Shiro took them inside and said to the officer at the desk, "These two are helping me with an important case. I need to pick up one other kid, so can you look after them?"

"Sure," the woman said. To Kisshu and Ichigo, she said, "You can have a seat over there."

They nodded, and sat down. Shiro nodded, and said, "I'll be right back."

**Sort of a cliffie… Well, what did you think? Ryou now has a hostage! I'll post more soon!**


	28. Finding Lettuce

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 28:**

**Finding Lettuce**

About fifteen minutes after Shiro left, he returned with Pai, who actually looked angry. "Shiro, where are the computers?" he asked after saying a brief hello to Ichigo and Kisshu.

"They're in one of our back rooms," Shiro replied. "Come with me." Pai, Ichigo and Kisshu followed him into a small room near the back of the station. Another officer was already in there, looking at the computers. Shiro went up to him and said, "Officer Itou, we need to use one of these computers. We've got a lead on the missing girl's whereabouts."

"Okay, I'll stop for a while," Officer Itou said. He stood up and moved back. Shiro nodded to Pai, who immediately sat down at the monitor, and started typing. The others watched with interest as Pai pulled up a new window. Pai typed 'Mew Lettuce' into the search box.

Suddenly Pai looked closely at the screen, then said, "Bingo!"

"You found her?" Kisshu asked.

"I didn't find her precise location, but her pendant is at least near the docks in Tokyo Bay," Pai said. "So she should be there. Let's go."

"Okay, but shouldn't we get more people?" Kisshu asked. "It's not going to be easy to find her with only the four of us."

"Yeah…" Ichigo said.

Shiro said, "I could probably get some others to help us, but we need to be discreet about it. Ryou will just run if we bring an army."

"Do you have people who you trust to keep our secret?" Pai said.

"Hai," Shiro replied. "I'll go ask at the front desk to see where they are." He left, and Pai got up from the chair. He looked worried.

"Pai, I'm sure we'll find Lettuce," Ichigo said. Pai just nodded.

Suddenly Shiro came back and said, "I've called up another eight of my most trusted friends in the police force. They'll be here soon, so let's go out front and wait." The others nodded, and followed Shiro out to the front lobby.

About half an hour later, everyone was gathered in the front lobby, and Shiro was briefing his friends. "Okay, we're going to the docks, and we're going to split up into pairs. I'm giving the kids walkie-talkies as well, since they might need them. I'm pairing Kisshu with Ichigo, since I don't want to split them up."

"Wait, shouldn't one of us go with them, then?" one woman said.

"They can handle it- right you two?" Shiro said.

"Yeah, and we can communicate telepathically, so if we get separated, it's easy for us to find each other," Ichigo said.

"Okay…" the other police officers said.

"Well, should we choose the other pairs?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah," the others said. Shiro then said to the woman who had first spoken, "Nori, you will go with Yoshi. Genji, you'll go with Sunki. Ai, you're with Hideki. Kira, you're with Dimari, and I'll pair with Pai."

"Got it," the other police officers said seriously.

"Okay, let's move out," Shiro said. They all went out to the parking lot, and got into different cars. Kisshu, Ichigo and Pai went with Shiro, but all the others went two to a car.

After a short drive, Shiro pulled to a stop, as did his friends. "We'll go on foot from here, it's too dangerous to drive in," he told everyone when they got out of the cars. They were pretty close to the docks, so everyone nodded. "Kisshu, Ichigo, I'm giving you one walkie-talkie, since you don't need one to communicate with each other. If you find something, let me know. All you have to do with these is press that red button and type in the number 35. That'll make sure you get on our frequency, rather than someone else's."

"Okay," the two of them said.

"Should we start with the warehouses?" one officer asked.

"That's a good idea," Shiro said. "Okay, let's get going. Keep in touch, and if you find anything, tell the rest of us immediately. Don't rush in on your own."

"Hai!' everyone said, and split up into their assigned pairs. Then they all went off in different directions.

**I don't know if that's really a cliffhanger, but I'm posting again tonight, so I guess it doesn't matter. Please review!**


	29. The Fight

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 29:**

**The Fight**

Kisshu and Ichigo went to the nearest warehouse after everyone else had left. They searched around quietly. Suddenly Ichigo noticed that there was a trapdoor in the floor near one window. She called Kisshu over, and he put his ear to the door as Ichigo transformed. "I hear voices, and one of them sounds familiar," Kisshu whispered.

"Should we call Shiro?" Ichigo asked.

"Yeah, but we'd better go outside first, we don't want to alert Ryou to our presence," Kisshu said.

Ichigo nodded, and they were about halfway out of the warehouse when the trapdoor burst open. They spun around, and saw Ryou standing behind them with a gun.

"Ryou! What did you do with Lettuce?" Ichigo shouted.

"Oh, she's down there," Ryou said, pointing to the trapdoor. "But you'll have to go through me to get her back."

"That's just what we're going to do," Ichigo said. Then she heard Kisshu's voice in her head. _Tell Pai what's happening while I distract Ryou, _he said. _Then Shiro can contact the others, since Pai should be able to get a lock on our location._

_Okay, _Ichigo said, then thought about Pai. Soon she felt connected to him, and said, _Pai, can you hear me?_

_Hai, _he replied.

_We found Ryou in the warehouse closest to the cars, and he's got a gun. Tell Shiro we need him and the others here as soon as possible, _Ichigo said.

_Got it, _Pai said.

Ichigo said telepathically to Kisshu, _I contacted Pai. We should try to keep Ryou here until the others come._

_Okay, _Kisshu said, getting out his Dragon Swords. Getting the idea, Ichigo got out her Strawberry Bell, and the two stood ready to attack. Surprisingly, Ryou didn't immediately attack. They were soon to find out why, as he pushed a button on his gun. Then it turned into a large sword!

Before he could charge at them, Ichigo leaped into the air and performed her attack. "Ribon… Strawberry Surprise!" she shouted.

Ryou smirked, and Kisshu started to get a bad feeling. "Ichigo, he's planning something!" Kisshu said- right as Ryou swept the sword at Ichigo's attack. Ichigo was still in midair when this happened, and the attack was sent right back at her!

"ICHIGO!" Kisshu shouted as the Strawberry Surprise hit her before she could dodge. Ichigo fell to the groud, unconscious. Kisshu teleported under her and caught her, then set her down out of the way and took out his Dragon Swords again. "You're going to pay for that," he snarled at Ryou.

Ryou just laughed. "You seriously think you can defeat me?" he asked. "Well, you'll see. I'm much stronger now than I was when I first sent that note."

Kisshu snarled and flew at Ryou, who dodged and brought up his sword as Kisshu turned and attacked.

Ryou tried to cut Kisshu, but he dodged and teleported behind Ryou, who jumped away and lunged forward, sword outstretched. Kisshu dodged again, but Ryou still managed to slice his arm. Kisshu cried out, and dropped one of his swords. His right arm was bleeding and basically useless now. Ryou smirked and started to lunge forward again, but was suddenly blasted back into the wall by Pai, who shouted, "_Fuu Rai Sen!" _Lightning shot out of Pai's fan, melting Ryou's sword. Then Pai shouted, _"Fuu Hyou Sen!" _Spears of ice shot out of the fan, pinning Ryou to the ground. Pai then teleported and caught Kisshu as he passed out from blood loss. The other police officers ran in, led by Shiro, who spotted Ichigo, and ran to her as the other police officers surrounded the pinned-down Ryou. The other officers tied Ryou up, then two of them went down the still-open trapdoor, and brought Lettuce back up. Luckily she wasn't injured, just scared.

"Guys, we've got to help Kisshu and Ichigo," Shiro said urgently.

"She needs to detransform," Lettuce said. "I can do that." She touched Ichigo's pendant, and Ichigo returned to normal.

Shiro nodded, then lifted Ichigo up and told the others, "Let's get to a hospital, fast!"

The others nodded, and Pai carried Kisshu while Shiro carried Ichigo. They took the two unconscious teens to the cars and turned on the sirens. Then Shiro and the others drove at top speed to the nearest hospital. Pai had managed to slow Kisshu's bleeding, and had made a makeshift bandage out of part of his shirt.

They arrived at the hospital and raced in. The woman at the front desk took one look at Kisshu and Ichigo and immediately pressed a button. Minutes later, two paramedics with stretchers came in and took Kisshu and Ichigo away. Pai, Lettuce and the other police officers settled down in the waiting room to wait for news.

It was about 11 at night and everyone except Lettuce, Shiro and Pai had pretty much dozed off when a nurse came out and said, "You're the ones who brought those kids in, right?"

"Hai," Shiro replied.

"The boy is going to be fine; he lost a lot of blood, but we stopped the bleeding and cleaned and bandaged the wound. The girl's injuries won't be as easy. It looks like she's been burned on her arms, and there's a large slash in her left arm. We cleaned the injuries, but it's going to take some more time for her to recover. Would you like to see them?" the nurse asked.

"Hai, can you take us?" Pai asked.

"Sure," the woman said. "Come with me. I put them in the same room for now."

"That's probably the best thing you could have done," Pai commented. "Kisshu would freak out if he woke up and found that Ichigo was gone."

"Oh," the nurse said. "I take it they're very close then?"

"Hai," Pai said. "They are."

Finally they came to a door with the number 136 on it. "You can go in, call me if you need anything," the nurse said.

Lettuce, Shiro and Pai nodded, and opened the door. Ichigo's left arm was bandaged from her shoulder to her wrist, and her legs were bandaged too. There were bandages on her right arm too, and she was still unconscious.

Lettuce, Pai and Shiro looked at Kisshu, who was starting to wake up. Suddenly his eyes shot open. "Ichigo! Where's Ichigo?" he asked, upon seeing Pai, Lettuce and Shiro looking down at him.

"She's in the bed next to you," Pai said. "The nurse said she was pretty badly injured, so let's try not to wake her up, okay?"

"Okay… what happened? Did you guys get Ryou?" Kisshu asked.

"Hai," Shiro said. "He's on his way back to jail. I told them to put him in a room that has a door instead of bars, so he shouldn't be able to get out as Alto."

"Why do I feel so weak?" Kisshu asked.

"The nurse said you lost a lot of blood," Pai replied. "You should try not to push yourself. And don't move your arm too much; you might reopen that wound. It was pretty bad; you should be more careful."

"Sorry," Kisshu said. Then he yawned.

"Go back to sleep," Shiro said. "We'll be in and out, but we'll make sure that you and Ichigo don't get separated."

"Thanks," Kisshu said. Then he went back to sleep, tired out from talking.

Before they left, they looked over at Ichigo. She was still unconscious, so they decided to leave. Someone still had to take Lettuce back to her family, and they needed to talk to the hospital staff.

They found the nurse waiting outside. "We have some information that you need in caring for these two," Shiro said seriously.

"O-okay, I'll take you to the doctor that'll be taking care of them," the nurse said. She led them back to the lobby, then over to another door. She knocked and said, "Dr. Anko?"

"Come in," they heard a woman say. The nurse opened the door and let Shiro, Lettuce and Pai in.

"What's up?" a young woman asked. "You're the ones who brought in those kids, right?"

"Hai," Shiro said.

"I did blood tests on both of them," Dr. Anko said. "I think I know some of what you're going to say. The girl is a Mew Mew, right?"

"Hai, and I'd appreciate it if you kept this confidential," Shiro said. "They were helping us with an important case when they got injured, and their identities need to be kept secret- especially the boy's."

"I understand," Dr. Anko said. "I won't tell anyone. Is there anything else I should know?"

"Hai," Pai said. "Kisshu- the boy- will freak out if the two of them are separated. I think it would be better to keep them in the same room, since I assume you don't want to deal with him when he's freaking out."

"Why would he freak out?" Dr. Anko asked.

"The two of them are extremely close," Pai said. "Also, Ichigo- the girl-, isn't awake yet. She shouldn't be separated from Kisshu, because she'll just get worried. I don't think she'll freak out, but I assume you want her to rest, not get worked up."

"Yes, that's correct. It would be bad if she got too worked up," Dr. Anko said.

"Kisshu was awake when we got in there, and we were able to calm him quickly," Shiro said. "He knows that Ichigo is in the same room. Ichigo hasn't woken up yet, though."

"Kisshu also tends to have nightmares when he's sick or injured badly," Pai said.

"We can give him a sedative if it gets too bad," Dr. Anko said.

"I would need to know what is in it first, some of your medications are poisonous to my race," Pai said.

"I'll get you a list of the ingredients in the most common one," Dr. Anko said. She got up and rummaged around in a drawer, then pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Pai.

He looked it over, then said, "I don't see any problems with this. If something does happen, I need you to contact me. I have some antidotes at my home that will counteract just about anything. Should I give you my number?"

"What if you can't get here in time?" Dr. Anko asked, worried.

"That's not a problem, I can just teleport. I'll be here in about a minute or so, so you don't have to worry," Pai reassured her.

"Okay, will you write down your number for me?" Dr. Anko asked. She held out a piece of paper and a pen.

Pai nodded and wrote down his number. Then he handed it to Dr. Anko.

"Thanks," she said. "You all should get some rest, so I'll make sure there's someone on call here tonight. You should go home, you can come back tomorrow."

"All right," Shiro said. "Come on, Pai, Lettuce." They nodded, and left.

Once they got back, they woke up the other officers, and two of them drove Lettuce home. Shiro drove Pai back to Ichigo's house, where they found Taruto panicking and Pudding, Mint and Zakuro trying to calm him. When they saw Pai and Shiro, they sighed.

"Where WERE you guys?" Mint demanded. "We've had quite the time trying to keep Taruto from completely freaking out. And where are Kisshu and Ichigo?"

"We were capturing Ryou, and we managed it, but Kisshu and Ichigo are both badly injured," Shiro said. "They're at the hospital, and we brought Lettuce home. I'm sorry we didn't contact you, we were a bit preoccupied with Kisshu and Ichigo."

Pai, meanwhile, was holding Taruto by the collar, and lecturing him. "Taruto, I understand you being worried, but you could have just teleported to us or used telepathy to contact me," he said sternly. "You did not need to freak out, and the Mews shouldn't have had to calm you down, you should know better."

"Uh… sorry about that…" Taruto said sheepishly.

Shiro, meanwhile, was talking to the other Mews. "I'm sorry we didn't contact you sooner," he said. "Is everything okay here?"

"Hai," Zakuro said. "Except for Taruto freaking out, of course. How are Ichigo and Kisshu?"

"Kisshu has an injured arm, but the nurse said that he should be fine after a few days rest," Shiro said. "Ichigo got hit with her own attack, and the nurse said it's going to take more time for her to recover. She was still unconscious when we left, but Kisshu woke up while we were there, so we were able to reassure him that Ichigo was in the same room, and that she'd recover too. He's still pretty weak, though."

"Did you tell the doctors to keep their identities secret?" Zakuro asked.

"Hai," Shiro said. "The doctor in charge of them said she wouldn't tell anyone, so they're safe."

"Good," Mint said.

"I'm going to head out, so I'll see you soon," Shiro said.

"Okay, bye," the others said. Shiro nodded and left.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about Ryou anymore," Mint said.

"Pai, Taruto, are you guys okay here without Ichigo?" Zakuro asked.

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Pai said.

"I think we should get going then," Zakuro said, looking pointedly at Mint and Pudding. They got the message, and headed out after saying goodbye to Pai and Taruto.

Zakuro was the last out, and she said, "Call one of us if you need anything."

"Will do," Pai said. Zakuro nodded and left.

"Well, it's late, so I'm going to bed," Taruto said.

"I guess I'll do the same," Pai said. They waved at each other, and went to their rooms.

Tomorrow was another day.

**Don't worry, it's not over. And please review, but don't flame me for hurting Kisshu as well as Ichigo.**


	30. Recovering, Again

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 30:**

**Recovering, Again**

The next day, the other Mews, Pai, Taruto and Shiro went to the hospital to see Kisshu and Ichigo. When they got to the room the two were in, they noticed that both Kisshu and Ichigo were awake.

"How are you guys feeling?" Shiro asked.

"I'm okay, but I can't really move around, it makes me dizzy," Kisshu said.

"My arms really hurt, but other than that and the fact that I get dizzy moving too, I'm pretty much fine," Ichigo said.

"I'm sorry you guys got so badly hurt while helping me," Shiro said.

"Well, at least we managed to catch Ryou," Kisshu said. "And Ichigo and I will heal."

"I'm a bit worried about missing so much school," Ichigo admitted.

"Your principal was very unhappy with us," Shiro said ruefully. "When I talked to him, he went into a rant about how the police should handle things on their own rather than dragging a bunch of kids into their cases. He was worried when he heard you two were in the hospital, and he's going to tell your teachers to hold back any assignments and homework that you need."

"Well, that's good news, we don't want to have our grades dropping," Kisshu said. Then he yawned, tired.

"It looks like you still get tired out easily," Pai said. "You should get some more rest, we'll come back another time."

"Okay…." Ichigo and Kisshu said. Soon after, they were both asleep again.

The others quietly left the room, where they saw Dr. Anko. "How are they?" she asked.

"I think they got tired out talking to us," Shiro said. "They're both asleep."

"Okay," Dr. Anko said. "It sounds like they'll both need more time to recover. I'll keep you guys posted, and I'll let you know when they're ready to go home."

"Thanks," Shiro said. He nodded to the others, and they followed him out.

A week and a half later, Shiro got a call from Dr. Anko, saying that Kisshu and Ichigo were both recovered, and would he come get them?

Shiro informed the other Mews, Pai and Taruto, and drove over to the hospital. He went to the lobby, where he found Dr. Anko with Kisshu and Ichigo.

"I gave them both a final checkup, and they're fine," Dr. Anko said. "I want you to keep an eye on them both, though, Officer Tanaka. You seem to be the only adult in their lives right now, and I'm counting on you to make sure nothing like this happens again."

"I understand," Shiro said. "Kisshu, Ichigo, are you both ready to go?"

"Hai," they replied. They followed him out to the car, and got in.

"Mint said she's throwing a party to celebrate your recovery," Shiro informed them. "I'll take you to your house first, though."

"Thanks, Shiro!" Ichigo said.

"By the way, what did Dr. Anko mean when she said I'm the only adult in your lives?" Shiro asked.

"My parents died last summer, and Kisshu's parents are also dead," Ichigo said. "Pai and Taruto's families are back on their planet, so we're all basically living together as orphans."

"I'm so sorry to hear that," Shiro said. "I promise, I'll do what I told Dr. Anko- look out for you guys."

"Thanks, Shiro," said Ichigo.

They rode the rest of the way in silence, and soon they were at Ichigo's house. Everyone was outside waiting for them.

Kisshu and Ichigo got out of the car and were immediately pounced on by everyone except Pai and Zakuro. After they untangled themselves, Mint said, "I'm hosting a sleepover party tonight, so you guys should get ready. See you all at six?"

"Sure Mint," Ichigo said. "Thanks!"

Everyone except Pai and Taruto left to get ready. Shiro was also invited, so he was going to go get some of his things. This left Ichigo and Kisshu alone with Pai and Taruto.

"I'm glad you're both feeling better," Pai said sincerely. "We were all pretty worried."

"Thanks Pai," Kisshu said. "Dr. Anko said we were both fine, but she wasn't really sure if I should teleport yet; that's why she called Shiro to drive us home. Do you mind seeing if I'm strong enough?"

"Sure," said Pai. He put a hand on Kisshu's chest, and his hand began to glow. Finally he took it off, and said, "Yep, you're all set. You should be able to teleport just fine."

"That's great!" Kisshu said excitedly.

"We should get our stuff together, it's already 5:15," Ichigo said.

"Okay," the boys said. "Do you have sleeping bags?"

"Yeah, I've got three extras besides my own," Ichigo said. She got them out, and handed a green one to Kisshu, a black one to Pai, and a red one to Taruto. Then she got out her own pink one, and said, "You all have your own pillows, so I think that aside from toiletries, we're all set. You should all pack up the rest of your stuff; Shiro said he wanted to pick us up at 5:50."

The boys nodded, and by 5:45, everyone was ready. Soon after, Shiro pulled up in his own car and said, "Ready to go?"

"Yep," Ichigo said. She and the boys got in the car, and they all went to Mint's.

**Okay, before I do the actual sleepover, I've got a question. Do people want to see fluff between Shiro and Zakuro? PM or let me know in a review, please!**


	31. Sleepover

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 31:**

**Sleepover**

Shiro drove up to Mint's front gate. "Wow, this place is huge," he said. "I'm guessing her family is really rich."

"Yeah, and she loves that," Ichigo said.

Suddenly the intercom at the gate said, "Please state your business here."

"We're here for the sleepover with Aizawa Mint," Shiro said.

"Very well," the voice said. The gates opened, and Shiro drove in, then parked off to the side.

The five of them got their sleeping bags and other things out of the car, and then walked up to the front door. The door was opened by Mint's grandma, who said, "Mint is upstairs with the other girls. Come with me, I'll take you there."

Shiro, Ichigo, Kisshu, Pai and Taruto all followed Mint's grandma upstairs to the second floor. The older woman knocked on a door halfway down the hall, and said, "Mint, the other guests are here."

The door opened, and Mint said, "Everyone else is here, come on in." Ichigo and the others followed her into the room, which was huge. There was also a huge walk-in closet, and a king-size bed. Despite that, everyone had their sleeping bags laid out on the floor, and were sitting or lying down in front of a big-screen TV, watching Ouran High School Host Club.

"Lay out your stuff wherever," Mint said. "There's plenty of room."

"Thanks, Mint," Ichigo said.

"You're welcome," Mint said. "I also told the maids to bring some food and drinks up here, so they should be here soon." Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, there was a knock on the door, and three maids came in with a cart filled with lots of food. There was also a bunch of soda and juice.

"Thank you," Mint said. The maids bowed and left as Mint said, "Hey guys, the food is ready, so should we eat?"

"Yeah, na no da!" Pudding said excitedly. The others came over and sat down. Somehow Shiro ended up next to Zakuro. Everyone else was in their usual pairs: Kisshu and Ichigo, Pai and Lettuce, and Taruto and Pudding. Mint was on Zakuro's other side, but Zakuro seemed not to notice this time. She was acting a little different than usual, and Ichigo noticed. Inwardly smirking, she said telepathically to Kisshu, _I think Zakuro might have a crush on Shiro. _

_Really? _Kisshu said. _You might be right, she is acting a bit different than usual. She keeps looking at him when she thinks no one's looking._

_Let's see if we can get her to admit it, _Ichigo said.

_Good idea, how about playing Truth or Dare? _Kisshu asked.

_Yeah! Great idea, Kisshu, _Ichigo said. Aloud she said, "Hey, should we play Truth or Dare?"

"Yeah, na no da!" Pudding said.

"Sure," Mint said. The others all nodded.

"Who should go first?" Lettuce asked.

"Either Kisshu or Ichigo," Mint said. "This party is for them, after all."

"I'll let Kisshu go," Ichigo said. Telepathically she said, _You know what to do?_

_Yep, _said Kisshu, then said aloud, "Zakuro, Truth or Dare?"

"Truth," Zakuro said. She could sense something was up, but decided to ignore it. Big mistake.

"Okay…. Do you have a crush on Shiro?" Kisshu asked with an evil grin.

For the first time ever, Zakuro actually blushed! Then she said softly, "Yes…."

Everyone's jaws dropped… except Kisshu and Ichigo's. They hi-fived each other, laughing. "We got her to confess!" Kisshu said happily.

"You _planned _this?" Mint asked.

"Well, we can communicate telepathically," Ichigo said. "We both noticed that Zakuro was acting a bit different since she sat next to Shiro, and we decided to find out if our theory was correct."

Interrupting this, Shiro said, "Zakuro, you like me?"

"Y-yeah…" Zakuro said. She sounded embarrassed.

To everyone's great surprise, Shiro said, "I'm honored, Zakuro. I actually really like you too. Do… do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"I'd like that, a lot," Zakuro said, sounding happy. Shiro smiled, and hugged her. To everyone's surprise and pleasure, Zakuro smiled and hugged him back.

**Sorry it's a bit short. I just wanted to add in that Shiro and Zakuro are going to be a couple from now on. I'm hoping people will tell me what they think of this romance!**


	32. Disaster Strikes

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 32:**

**Disaster Strikes**

The sleepover was over, and everyone had gone home. Kisshu and Ichigo were starting school again on Monday, so they had to catch up on work that had been sent home to them. To that end, they had been working a lot since they got home from Mint's sleepover. Now the two of them were almost done. As they were finishing up the last worksheet, Pai came in and said, "Ichigo, we're running low on food. Would you mind going to the store? I made a list of things we need."

"Sure," Ichigo said. "I'm finished here anyways."

"Want me to go too, Koneko-chan?" Kisshu asked.

"No, I'll be fine on my own," Ichigo said. "Pai, can I have the list?" Pai handed her a slip of paper, and she looked it over. "Okay, I'll be back soon," she said. She went downstairs and put her shoes on, then left with the list.

_With Kisshu: _"Pai, something doesn't feel right," Kisshu said. "I feel like something's about to happen- something bad."

"I don't feel anything," Pai said. "Maybe it's just your imagination."

"Maybe…" Kisshu thought a bit more, then shook it off. Suddenly Kisshu's cell phone rang, and he looked at the caller ID. "SHIRO?" he shouted as he picked up.

"_Kisshu! Where's Ichigo?" _Shiro asked, sounding worried.

"She went shopping, why?" Kisshu asked.

"_Ryou escaped AGAIN! You have to find her, before he can get her!" _Shiro said urgently.

"I'm on it," Kisshu said. He hung up and turned to Pai. "Ryou escaped, and we need to find Ichigo before it's too late," Kisshu said. "Go tell Taruto and the other Mews; I'll look for Ichigo."

"Got it," Pai said, and teleported off.

Kisshu was about to teleport too, when he heard Ichigo scream telepathically, _KISSHU! HELP!_

_Where are you? _Kisshu asked.

_The- _suddenly their connection was broken. Kisshu assumed that she had been knocked out. He immediately teleported to a spot near the store Ichigo had been going to, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Worried, he dialed Shiro's number on his phone, and waited for Shiro to pick up.

_With Ichigo: _Ichigo had been walking to the store, but suddenly her cat senses told her something was coming. She spun around, and came face-to-face with none other than Ryou!

"Ryou! What are you doing out of prison?" Ichigo asked. Ryou didn't reply. Instead he took out a knife! Before he could lunge at her, though, she dodged, telepathically screaming, _KISSHU! HELP! _

_Where are you? _She heard him say. She tried to reply, but Ryou chose that moment to take advantage of her distraction and hit her over the head. Before she blacked out, she felt her connection to Kisshu snap.

_Back with Kisshu: _As soon as Shiro picked up, Kisshu said, "Ichigo's been kidnapped, most likely by Ryou. I sent Pai to warn the others that Ryou had escaped, and then I heard Ichigo calling me for help. I couldn't figure out where she was, and Ryou must have knocked her out, since I can't hear her anymore. I need you to help us find her!"

"Where are you now?" Shiro asked.

"I'm near the store where Ichigo was going, but she's not here," Kisshu said. "Do you want me to teleport back to our house?"

"Hai, but don't get seen," Shiro said. "I'll be over as soon as I inform my supervisor that Ryou's kidnapped Ichigo."

"Okay," Kisshu said, and hung up. Then he looked around, and teleported back to Ichigo's house. Then he telepathically said, _Pai, Taruto, Ryou kidnapped Ichigo! Bring the other Mews to our house ASAP, okay?_

_Got it, _he heard them say. That done, he sank down on the sofa, and put his head in his hands. About five minutes later, the doorbell rang. Kisshu looked through the peephole, and let Shiro in. Soon after, the other Mews and Pai and Taruto came in.

"Kisshu, tell me exactly what happened," Shiro said.

Kisshu said, "I was about to go look for Ichigo, but then I heard her scream my name telepathically. I asked her where she was, and she started to tell me, but then she got cut off, I assume Ryou knocked her out. That was about an hour ago."

"Where was she headed?" Shiro asked.

"The grocery store two streets over," Kisshu replied. "I went over there, but there was no one there. So either she got captured before she got that far, or we were right, and Ryou did somehow infuse himself with our DNA."

"The second option seems more likely," Pai said. "Surely someone else would have called the police if they saw Ryou around this area. He must have learned to teleport, so he could make a quick getaway."

"I agree," Shiro said. "However, that will make it hard to get Ichigo back. Also, he didn't leave any notes this time, so we'll have to work fast. He may be planning to kill her, not just hold her hostage."

"This is bad," Lettuce said, sounding scared. "We need to find her fast."

"Any ideas?" Shiro said.

"Kisshu, you may be able to track her," Pai said. "Concentrate on how she feels to you, and see if you learn anything."

Kisshu nodded, and closed his eyes. To him, Ichigo felt like sunshine, so he concentrated on her face and that feeling. Finally an image began to form in his mind. "She's in a room near the ocean," Kisshu said in a distant voice. "I can see the docks nearby. She's still in Tokyo, but not in the warehouse where we found Lettuce. She's still unconscious though…." Suddenly Kisshu's eyes shot open. "Ryou has a knife!" he shouted, then teleported out, leaving the others in shock.

Shiro was the first to snap out of it. "We need back up," he said.

"There's no time," Pai said. "All of you, grab ahold of me or Taruto. We're going to the docks to find those two. NOW!"

Mint, Zakuro and Shiro grabbed Pai, and Pudding and Lettuce grabbed Taruto. The two Cyniclons nodded, then teleported to the docks.

As soon as they landed, Pai said, "I need you girls to transform."

The Mews nodded, and shouted,

"MEW MEW MINT!"

"MEW MEW LETTUCE!"

"MEW MEW PUDDING!"

"MEW MEW ZAKURO!"

"METAMORPHO-SIS!"

Soon all of them were ready to go. Suddenly they heard shouting, but it was far off. They looked at each other and ran in that direction.

_With Kisshu:_ Kisshu had managed to teleport directly to Ichigo, just before Ryou was about to stab her. He kicked Ryou out of the way, and stood in front of Ichigo, Dragon Swords ready.

Ryou stood up and shouted, "You ruin everything!"

"Well, I have to protect Ichigo, and I don't need some insane blonde bastard in my way," Kisshu said. "Let's end this, Blondie."

"With pleasure," Ryou snarled. His knife reappeared in his left hand, and lengthened into a sword, like the gun he had last time.

Kisshu lunged forward, and Ryou brought up his sword to block, but not before Kisshu cut a slit in his arm. Seeing this as an opportunity, Kisshu created an energy ball, and sent it at Ryou.

Ryou smirked, and said, "Aren't you forgetting something?"- right before he swept his sword at the energy ball, sending it back at Kisshu. Kisshu dodged it neatly, but it didn't disappear. Instead it looked like Ryou was controlling it!

Kisshu decided to try a different tactic. He went straight for Ryou, lunging forward with his Dragon Swords. He was hoping that if he killed Ryou, the energy ball would stop.

Unfortunately, Ryou had other ideas. Just as Kisshu was about to stab him, he suddenly pulled back his sword. Before Kisshu could figure out why, the energy ball hit him in the back!

Ryou started laughing as Kisshu cried out. The energy ball had disappeared after hitting Kisshu, who was starting to look a bit unsteady from the pain of his burns. However, while Ryou was laughing, Kisshu knew that this was his chance. With the last of his strength, he lunged forward in a blur, stabbing Ryou in the chest. Ryou screamed, just as Shiro, Pai, Taruto and the other Mews burst into the building, and Ichigo woke up.

The others watched as Ryou collapsed, then ran to Kisshu, who was turning pale. Ichigo had woken up, and she caught him as he stumbled.

"Kisshu! What happened?" Ichigo asked.

"I got hit with my own energy ball," Kisshu said weakly. "It really hurts…"

"Well, I'm at full strength, so I should be able to do something about that," Ichigo said. She took out her pendant and transformed, then helped Kisshu lie down on his stomach. Then she put both hands on his back, and shouted, "Ribon… Healing Flash!"

The burns started healing immediately. When they were healed, Ichigo took her hands off Kisshu, and helped him sit up. "How are you feeling now?" she asked.

"It doesn't hurt anymore, but like the other times, I still feel kind of tired," Kisshu said. "Thanks for healing me, I know it takes a lot out of you."

"Yeah… after that one, I'm not sure I can walk," Ichigo said.

"I could carry you," Kisshu said. He stood up, but stumbled again, and Pai caught him.

"You're in no condition to be carrying people," Pai told him. "Shiro, you wouldn't happen to have a cell phone or walkie-talkie with you, so we could get a ride back, would you?"

"I do," Shiro said. He took a cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number, then said, "Officer Tanaka here, I found Ryou. I'm requesting a few cars to come help, I brought some others with me, but we came on foot." He waited a minute, then said, "Okay, thanks." Then he hung up. "The others should be here soon, so we should probably wait outside," Shiro explained.

"Okay," the others replied. Ichigo tried to get up, but fell back, tired. Kisshu wasn't much better. Shiro picked up Ichigo, and Pai helped Kisshu walk out of the warehouse.

By the time they got out, Ichigo was asleep. Shiro looked down in surprise as she snuggled against him.

"She's pretty affectionate," he said.

"Actually, while that's true, right now that's her cat genes talking," Pai explained. "Cats tend to snuggle up to whatever the warmest thing around is. In this case, Shiro, it's you. She's probably just cold and since you're the warmest thing around, she's trying to warm herself up subconsciously."

"Wow, I didn't know all that about cats," Shiro said. "I guess we should get her a blanket when the others get here."

Soon after he said this, five police cars pulled up, and five officers got out. "Where's Ryou?" one of them asked.

"In the warehouse back there," Shiro said. "He attacked Kisshu here, and I think he's either badly injured or dead by now. By the way, do you have any blankets with you?"

"I've got a few in my car, why?" another officer asked.

"Ichigo's cold," Shiro replied, nodding to the cat girl in his arms.

"I'll go get those blankets," the officer said, and she did. Shiro wrapped Ichigo up in blankets, then put her in one of the cars.

"Kisshu, I assume you want to go with her?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah…" Kisshu said, sounding tired. Pai helped him over to the car, and he sat down inside with Ichigo.

"I'll take these two home," Shiro said. "Can the rest of you handle things here?"

"Hai," the other officers replied.

"Good. Pai, come with me, I need someone to help Kisshu, since I have to carry Ichigo," Shiro said.

"Hai," Pai said, and got in the car. Shiro saluted the other officers, then got in the driver's seat, and drove off with Kisshu, Ichigo and Pai.

**I know, I know, Kisshu got hurt again, but this time he managed to defeat Ryou while he was hurt. See you next chapter (i.e., tomorrow…) REVIEW!**


	33. Almost the End

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 33:**

**Almost the End**

Shiro pulled up in front of Ichigo's house, and stopped the car. By this point, Kisshu had fallen asleep too. Pai and Shiro got out of the car, and Pai picked up Kisshu while Shiro picked up Ichigo. Pai went ahead and opened the door, and the two went inside.

"Which room?" Shiro asked quietly.

"I'll show you, they share," Pai said. He led the way upstairs, then put Kisshu down on the bed he shared with Ichigo. Then he motioned for Shiro to put Ichigo down next to Kisshu. Shiro did so, and Pai pulled a blanket over them. That done, he beckoned to Shiro, who followed him out and downstairs.

Once they were downstairs, Pai said, "Well, they should be safe now that Ryou is dead. Thank you for all your help, Shiro."

"I'm the one who should be thanking you," Shiro said. "You've all been so helpful to me and the rest of the police. We couldn't have caught Ryou without you guys."

Suddenly the rest of the Mews and Taruto came in. "How are Kisshu and Ichigo?" Taruto asked, worried.

"They're both worn out," Pai replied. "Let's try not to make too much noise; they need to rest. They should be fine by tomorrow." Everyone sighed, relieved.

Pai was, as usual, right. The next morning, Kisshu and Ichigo got up with no problem and went to school for the first time in quite a while.

Before the first class, the principal called them into his office. "I received a call from Officer Tanaka," he informed them. "He said you helped him finish the case, and that you don't need to help the police again. He also informed me that Ryou, the one you all were after, is dead, so you don't need to worry about him getting out of prison anymore."

"That's a relief," Ichigo said.

"I agree," the principal said. "I informed Officer Tanaka that I was extremely unhappy with him and the police for dragging you into this. He apologized, and said that he'll apologize to you guys personally as well."

"We didn't really mind," Kisshu said. "We're just glad there's no danger anymore from Ryou."

The principal sighed, and said, "You two should get to class. I hope the rest of the school year is less eventful for you. Good luck in your studies."

"Thank you, sir," Ichigo and Kisshu said together. Then they headed to their first period class.

**I know this is really short, but I'm about to finish up, so the next chapter will be a time skip/epilogue. Then it'll be over! Thank you all for the 203 reviews!**


	34. Epilogue: 12 Years Later

**Kisshu's Illness Chapter 34:**

**Epilogue: 12 Years Later**

It was twelve years after Ryou's death. Kisshu and Ichigo were now married, and had a baby girl named Ayame. They had both finished school with no further problems, and along with the other Mews, Pai, and Taruto, they had opened up a restaurant. The restaurant was called The Golden Cat, and it was very popular.

To everyone's surprise, Shiro and Zakuro had continued dating, and they had gotten married a year ago. Shiro was still in the police force, but Zakuro had stopped modeling to work at the restaurant.

Pai and Lettuce were also married, with a two-year-old son named Yoshi. Pai had moved out of Ichigo's house, and he, Lettuce and Yoshi lived in a small house nearby the restaurant.

Pudding and Taruto were planning their wedding, and it would be in about a month. Both of them were very happy, and Taruto was glad that Pudding's hyperactive siblings were now living in China with their dad. Pudding's dad had heard about Taruto, and decided to call off the marriage between Pudding and Ron Yuebin after seeing how attached his other children were to Taruto.

Mint had unexpectedly met a boy in her first year of public school named Kaito, and they began dating. After they finished school, Kaito proposed to Mint, who accepted, despite her parent's prejudices. Now Mint was working full time at the restaurant, and living with Kaito in a house near Ichigo and Kisshu's. Both of them were very happy, and Kaito didn't seem to mind working in the restaurant.

After the whole Ryou fiasco, there had been no more problems. Deep Blue was dead, and the Cyniclons were happy with their planet, so there were no more alien attacks.

Keiichiro had recently gotten out of jail, since his sentence was shorter than Ryou's had been. Despite the fact that he had helped with the Mew Project, Ichigo and the others offered him a job at their restaurant, and he was happy to accept. He eventually got over Ryou's death, and he was a great chef.

Nothing could have worked out better for the Mews and Cyniclons. Shiro kept his promise, and no one ever found out about Kisshu, Pai and Taruto's identities. They were all living a good life, and everyone was happy with the way things turned out.

**Okay, corny ending, I know. This is the end of Kisshu's Illness, so please review and tell me what you think.**

**I will say that there won't be a sequel, I'm not into writing about the children of the Mews and Cyniclons.**

**I hope everyone liked this story, and I really appreaciate all the reviews. You guys are the best!**

**I would also like to say a special thank you to candykiss228, who came up with the basic idea for this story. Thanks, this is the best one yet!**

**See you all, and if you've got more story ideas, please PM me!**


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